Halozyme Enters Lucrative Global Collaboration & Licensing Agreement


Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. recently announced a global collaboration and license agreement with AbbVie to develop and commercialize products combining proprietary AbbVie compounds with Halozyme’s ENHANZE platform.

Under the terms of the agreement, Halozyme will receive an initial $23 million payment, followed by milestone payments totaling approximately $130 million for each of up to nine collaboration targets. These payments are subject to AbbVie’s achievement of specified development, regulatory, and sales-based milestones. In addition, AbbVie will pay Halozyme tiered royalties if products under the collaboration are commercialized.

The Halozyme ENHANZE platform is based on a proprietary recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme (rHuPH20) that temporarily degrades hyaluronan, a chain of natural sugars in the body, to aid in the dispersion and absorption of other injected therapeutic drugs. For AbbVie, this technology may allow for more rapid delivery of injectable medications through subcutaneous delivery.

“We are pleased that AbbVie, a global leader in the development of novel therapeutics, has chosen Halozyme’s ENHANZE platform to augment their development pipeline,” said Dr. Helen Torley, President and Chief Executive Officer. “AbbVie joins a growing number of top pharmaceutical and biotech companies partnering with Halozyme to develop new formulations that will benefit patients worldwide.”

ENHANZE is Halozyme’s proprietary drug delivery platform based on its patented recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme (rHuPH20). rHuPH20 has been shown to remove traditional limitations on the volume of biologics that can be delivered subcutaneously (just under the skin). By using rHuPH20, some biologics and compounds that are administered intravenously may instead be delivered subcutaneously. ENHANZE may also benefit subcutaneous biologics by reducing the need for multiple injections. This delivery has been shown in studies to reduce healthcare practitioner time required for administration and shorten time for drug administration.

Halozyme Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing novel oncology therapies that target the tumor microenvironment. Halozyme’s lead proprietary program, an investigational drug PEGPH20, applies a unique approach to targeting solid tumors, allowing increased access of co-administered cancer drug therapies to the tumor. PEGPH20 is currently in development for metastatic pancreatic cancer and non-small cell lung cancer and has potential across additional cancers in combination with different types of therapies. In addition to its proprietary product portfolio, Halozyme has established value-driving partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies including Roche, Pfizer, Janssen, Baxter, and AbbVie for its drug delivery platform, ENHANZE, which enables biologics and small molecule compounds that are currently administered intravenously to be delivered subcutaneously. For more information, visit www.halozyme.com.