Roche and Pharmasset have formed a partnership to develop a
new drug for the treatment of hepatitis C.
Pharmasset will receive an upfront fee, research and development support, and milestone payments that could total $168 million for PSI-6130, the nucleoside polymerase inhibitor that is the lead compound of the partnership. In addition, Pharmasset will receive royalties on product sales and retain certain copromotion
rights in the U.S.
Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will gain worldwide rights,
excluding Latin America and Korea, to PSI-6130. Roche will also receive options to related nucleoside polymerase inhibitors, which, if exercised, could result in Pharmasset receiving in excess of $300 million in total milestones under the agreement.