Roche has in-licensed the first medicine from Chugai since the companies merged their Japanese operations in October last year.

The drug, MRA, is a humanised monoclonal antibody shortly to enter phase III trials for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The drug is also in development for other indications, such as Crohn's disease, multiple myeloma, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and Castleman's disease.

The companies will establish a UK development office to co-ordinate all development activities and will co-promote the product in the UK, France and Germany. Roche will promote in all countries except Japan, South Korea and Taiwan while Chugai has the option of opting in to co-promote in the US, Italy and Spain.

"Chugai wants to maximize the commercial value of MRA in the rapidly growing biologics markets and further develop Chugai's international businesses with MRA", said Osamu Nagayama, Chairman of Chugai. "This is only feasible under the alliance with Roche".

MRA has a novel mode of action, blocking the action of the immune chemical interleukin-2 but will face fierce competition in the field of rheumatoid arthritis, which has seen several advances in therapy options in recent years.

COX-II inhibitors such as Pfizer/Pharmacia's Vioxx and Merck's Celebrex, are the market leading arthritis pain relief products, though doubts have been cast over their cardiovascular safety profile in recent months.

The tumour necrosis factor (TNF) blockers Enbrel (Wyeth) and Remicade (Johnson & Johnson) are classed as 'biologics' and represent a more sophisticated and targeted therapy option. Their high cost (between £8,000 and £11,000 per patient per year), however, has means their uptake in Europe has been slow.

Cambridge Antibody Technology and Abbott have also entered the market with their TNF blocker Humira, the first fully human monoclonal antibody to be approved for rheumatoid arthritis. The FDA gave the green light for the drug almost six months earlier than the companies were expecting.

Meanwhile, Boehringer Ingelheim and MorphoSys AG have agreed a therapeutic and diagnostic antibody collaboration and cross-license deal.

Boehringer Ingelheim will receive exclusive rights to MorphoSys-generated fully human antibodies generated by MorphoSys' HuCAL GOLD technology. The antibodies will target ICAM-1, a molecule involved in inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.

pharmafocus@pharmafile.co.uk