Furiex Pharmaceuticals is headed for a big payday – $25 million as a milestone payment plus royalties to come – after the FDA approved on Friday three new drugs to treat type 2 diabetes.
Shareholders are benefiting, too.
In pre-market trading Monday, shares are up a whopping 27 percent, or $5.76, to a new 52-week high of $27. The previous high was $25.
Furiex (Nasdaq: FURX) announced late Friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved the treatments from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.
“We are pleased to see these important therapies become available for patients with type 2 diabetes,” said June Almenoff, president and chief medical officer of Furiex. “Type 2 diabetes is a complex disease, requiring careful long-term disease management. We believe these new treatments in the U.S. offer patients additional therapeutic options for managing the disease.”
Fufriex is partnered with Takeda for the drugs’ development and is already receiving royalty payments from two that are already being sold in Japan.
The approved drugs include Nesina (alogliptin), Oseni and Kazano. The latter two include alogliptin in combination with other compounds.
Furiex also could receive additional milestone payments based on sales.
The company is based in Morrisville.
