Blood products and vaccines supplier CSL has bought the exclusive rights to commercialise the RAPIVAB flu treatment throughout much of the world.
RAPIVAB is an intravenous therapeutic for flu to be administered to patients over 18 years old who have an acute case of the flu and go to hospital for treatment.
CSL's current portfolio of flu drugs are vaccines administered to prevent flu.
"It provides us with the opportunity to extend our influenza franchise to include both prevention and treatment options in seasonal and pandemic settings," bioCSL general manager Dr John Anderson said.
RAPIVAB, or peramivir, is administered to patients in a single dose via intravenous infusion for 15 to 30 minutes.
RAPIVAB was developed under contract with the US government as part of preparation for a flu pandemic.
RAPIVAB has been sold in Japan since 2010 but was only approved in the US in 2014.
It is also licensed in Japan and South Korea.
RAPIVAB is not yet approved or available in Australia.
It is estimated that more than one million patients have received peramivir treatment to date.
CSL will pay US-based BioCryst an upfront sum of $33.7 million for RAPIVAB, plus up to $12 million upon achieving certain regulatory milestones.
CSL also will pay royalties to BioCryst upon achieving sales targets in the US and the rest of the world.
In addition, BioCryst will receive a payment on proceeds related to the stockpiling of RAPIVAB outside the US.
CSL shares dropped $1.23, or 1.4 per cent, to $85.97, as the wider market fell by 1.2 per cent.
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