Maxygen Inc. (MAXY)

[surf1944]

Roche, Maxygen end hepatitis drug development deal
Monday November 26, 1:06 pm ET

Maxygen Inc. and drugmaker Roche will end development of the hepatitis infection drug MAXY-alpha.

Roche in September had placed a hold on the program, which the companies had been developing since 2003.

Roche, which fully funded the MAXY-alpha program, had started a Phase Ia clinical trial in New Zealand at the end of 2006.

Redwood City-based Maxygen (NASDAQ: MAXY) expected no milestone payments in 2007 or 2008, the company said.

"While we are disappointed, we recognized and had advised earlier that termination of the program was one of the likely possibilities," said Maxygen CEO Russell Howard.

MAXY-alpha was designed to treat infections related to hepatitis C, the leading cause of liver cancer cases worldwide, and hepatitis B.

Published November 26, 2007 by San Francisco Business Times