$105M deal: Spark enters into licensing deal with Novartis
By John George, Philadelphia Business Journal

Spark Therapeutics has entered into a deal to license the rights to its new gene therapy treatment Luxturna outside the United States for $105 million upfront, and the potential to earn another $65 million in milestone payments.

Philadelphia-based Spark (NASDAQ: ONCE) signed the deal with Novartis (NYSE: NVS). Luxturna was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month as a one-time treatment for a type of inherited retinal disorder that causes blindness.

Under the agreement, Philadelphia-based Spark will retain regulatory responsibility for obtaining European Medicines Agency approval for Luxturna. Spark Therapeutics also entered into a separate agreement to manufacture and supply investigational voretigene neparvovec, the treatment it markets in the United States under the brand name Luxturna, to Novartis. Click HERE to read more.