Merrimack Pharmaceuticals has received a $5 million milestone payment from Shire, triggered by the sale of Onivyde in the first major non-European, non-Asian country, pursuant to the terms of Merrimack's asset sale to Ipsen in 2017.
"Since the start of the third quarter, Merrimack has received $38 million in non-dilutive capital, including two milestone payments from Shire totaling $23 million," said Richard Peters, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Merrimack. "We are pleased to further strengthen the Company's cash position as we continue advancing our wholly-owned clinical and preclinical pipeline."
The terms of the company's asset sale to Ipsen in 2017 entitled Merrimack to receive up to an aggregate of $33.0 million in net milestone payments from Shire, of which Merrimack has now received $23.0 million, including this milestone and the $18.0 million payment in August 2018 resulting from the sale of Onivyde in two additional major European countries. Merrimack remains eligible to receive up to an additional $10.0 million in milestone payments for the first patient dosed in a pivotal clinical trial of Onivyde in an indication other than pancreatic cancer.
Merrimack is also entitled to receive up to an aggregate of $450 million in regulatory-based milestones from Ipsen. Merrimack has stated it expects to pass these proceeds through to stockholders, net of any taxes owed and subject to there being a sufficient surplus at that time, consisting of:
- $225.0 million upon approval by the FDA of Onivyde for the first-line treatment of metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, subject to certain conditions
- $150.0 million upon approval by the FDA of Onivyde for the treatment of small cell lung cancer after failure of first-line chemotherapy
- $75.0 million upon approval by the FDA of Onivyde for an additional indication unrelated to those previously listed