Dyax and Genzyme agrees to terminate DX-88 contract

The termination agreement specifies that Dyax will receive all assets of the joint venture, such as a 100% ownership of DX-88 worldwide, as well as a $17m (€22.28m) cash payment. Moreover, Genzyme will receive 4.4 million shares of Dyax stocks. "This mutual agreement to end our long-standing relationship with Genzyme opens numerous commercialization and partnering opportunities to optimize the value of our DX-88 franchise for both HAE and cardiothoracic surgery (CTS),"​ said Henry Blair, chairman and chief executive officer of Dyax. "Our four-year partnership with Genzyme has provided us with the knowledge of orphan indications to move forward from here to complete the development of our HAE program without any delays and reach out to the patient and physician communities to make DX-88 a success in the marketplace." ​ Dyax and Genzyme signed the agreement 1998 to develop and commercialize DX-88 for HAE, while Dyax has lead the development of DX-88 in terms of clinical, regulatory and manufacturing activities. DX-88 is a highly specific inhibitor of plasma kallikrein, a key enzyme in the inflammatory cascade, which was discovered and developed by Dyax. Dyax developed DX-88 for HAE, a rare genetic disorder, but it can also be used to reduce complications associated with on-pump cardiothoracic surgery. Dyax identified DX-88 using its proprietary phage display technology, which quickly identifies high affinity binding compounds specific to therapeutic targets. There are over 70 revenue generating licenses and collaborations on this technology, mainly for therapeutic discovery but also for non-core areas, such as research reagents, affinity separations and diagnostic imaging. Dyax anticipates that the termination will not affect the Company's 2007 operating activities or the ongoing development and regulatory timelines for DX-88 in HAE.