VIVUS Licenses Stendra Rights To Metuchen Pharmaceuticals

VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) announced an agreement with Metuchen Pharmaceuticals LLC, granting the latter a fully paid perpetual license for exclusive rights to commercialize Stendra (avanafil) in the U.S., Canada, South America and India.

The licensing deal saw VIVUS receive $70 million from Metuchen. Metuchen will be responsible for royalties based on net sales due to Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation. We note that VIVUS had licensed Stendra from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma.

Concurrent to the license agreement, the companies also inked a commercial supply agreement. Per this agreement, VIVUS will be responsible for the manufacture and supply of Stendra to Metuchen through a mutually agreed period. Metuchen, on the other hand, will have the option to undertake the manufacturing and supply rights to Stendra in its territories.

We remind investors that VIVUS regained the U.S. and Canadian commercial rights to Stendra from Endo International plc (NASDAQ:ENDP) on Sep 30.

We note that Stendra is approved in both the U.S. and the EU for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. It is marketed under the trade name Spedra in the EU.

Apart from Metuchen, VIVUS has also collaborated with quite a few companies for the commercialization of the product. The company has also inked a deal with Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) for Stendra in Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, and the Commonwealth of Independent States including Russia.

We are positive on the latest deal. These agreements generate steady cash flow for VIVUS in the form of upfront and milestone payments.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

VIVUS currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Another top-ranked stock in health care sector is ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANIP) .

ANI Pharmaceuticals witnessed an increase of 9.5% and 4.7% in its earnings estimates for 2016 and 2017, respectively, in the last 60 days. It has beaten earnings estimates twice in the last four quarters, taking the average to 46.85%. The company’s stock has rallied 50.6% year to date. The company carries a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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