Liposome Technology Inc. (LTI) announced Monday that it hassigned an agreement with Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, a division ofICI Pharmaceuticals, for the marketing and distribution of thebroad-spectrum anti-fungal drug Amphocil in Europe.

The agreement, which could bring LTI upward of $20 millionoverall, is structured so that LTI and Zeneca will become fullpartners in registering the product in Europe as well as insharing profits for the product's sales, explained NickArvanitidis, LTI's chairman and chief executive officer.

LTI of Menlo Park, Calif., will get an up-front payment uponsigning the multiyear agreement. It will also receive milestonepayments based on the achievement of certain regulatory andsales goals. For 1993, this works out to something over $5million between the signing payment and the anticipatedapproval of Amphocil in the United Kingdom, Arvanitidis said.

And if LTI meets European product registration goals in 1994the company will receive another $5 million (in addition tosales), he added. "LTI gets $2 to 2.5 million for everymilestone," Arvanitidis told BioWorld. LTI, which willmanufacture and supply the product in bulk to Zeneca, will alsoearn a profit on its manufacturing costs, as well as royalties onproduct sales.

Zeneca (NYSE:ZEN) and LTI will have the joint responsibility fordeveloping a European registration strategy and for obtainingproduct registrations in Europe. LTI has already filedmarketing authorization applications for Amphocil in theUnited Kingdom, Ireland and Austria. Under the newagreement with Zeneca, the companies intend to supplementthese applications with additional Phase III clinical data and toexpedite additional regulatory filings throughout Europe.

LTI is conducting Phase III clinical trials in the U.S. and Europeof Amphocil, a lipid-complexed version of the anti-fungal drugamphotericin B, in patients with underlying kidney malfunctionwho cannot take conventional amphotericin B, those withdisseminated systemic fungal infections, and people who havefailed standard amphotericin B therapy. LTI's stock was up 25cents a share on Monday, closing at $7.25.

-- Jennifer Van Brunt Senior Editor

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