Onyx and Bayer settle claim

Bayer HealthCare has reached a settlement with Onyx Pharmaceuticals relating to Onyx's investigational treatment regorafeniba and revised a contract for the marketing of cancer drug Nexavar (sorafenib).

The regorafenib deal will see Bayer acquire the rights to the drug for a one-time payment of $160m, with the pharmaceutical company having the final decision-making authority for global development and commercialisation.

Onyx will also receive a royalty on any future global net sales of regorafenib in oncology. Bayer will contract the Onyx sales force to promote regorafenib, along with Bayer sales representatives, in the US.

Bayer had previously said it had full ownership of the drug, while Onyx claimed the compound was related to their joint Nexavar project.

Under the revised Nexavar agreement, both Onyx and Bayer are free to use their respective Nexavar sales forces to promote regorafenib and additional products outside of the collaboration. 

Bayer will purchase Onyx's royalty rights for sales of the product in Japan in exchange for a one-time payment to Onyx. Bayer does not have to pay royalties to Onyx on Japanese sales of Nexavar after December 31, 2011.

The new contract settles and dismisses all claims related to the complaint filed by Onyx against Bayer in the US.