The FDA has approved a cancer drug licensed by Teva, an Israeli company with its North American headquarters in Montgomery County, the company announced on Tuesday.
The injectable drug, Bendeka, was given orphan drug status and will be used for certain kinds of leukemia and lymphoma. It should be available for the first three months of 2016.
Teva licensed the drug from Eagle Pharmaceuticals of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, in February, and will be in charge of all promotion and distribution in the U.S. The company paid $30 million upfront for the licensing deal, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal, and now Eagle gets $15 million as an approval bonus.
Overall, the entire deal would be worth up to $120 million in the long term if all milestones are met.
Teva, based in North Wales, Pennsylvania, is the largest generic drug producer in the world. It became even bigger in July when it acquired Allergan's generics division for $40.5 billion.