Vertex to sell rights related to hepatitis C drug

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday it plans to sell the rights to some of the milestone payments connected to its hepatitis C drug candidate telaprevir.

Vertex said it wants to sell the rights to payments for regulatory filing and approval in the European Union. The company estimates it will get those payments, which are worth up to $250 million, by April 2012. Vertex wants to sell them in exchange for a one-time cash payment worth "a substantial percentage of these future milestones."

Vertex declined to comment on the reasons for the planned sale. In afternoon trading, its shares gave up 64 cents to $32.75.

The company is developing telaprevir through a partnership with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Johnson & Johnson. Telaprevir is in late-stage clinical testing, with results from three trials due by mid-2010.

The expected payments include $100 million after the companies file for regulatory approval, and $150 million when the drug is approved. Vertex has commercial rights to the drug in North America.

Morgan Stanley is advising Vertex on the transaction.

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