Biogen pays $80M to buddy up on PhIII ALS program

Biogen Idec is buddying up to Knopp Neurosciences with $80 million in cash and up to $245 million more in various milestones for marketing rights to a promising, late-stage ALS drug. Biogen will invest $60 million in the Pittsburgh, PA-based developer while providing another $20 million as an upfront for the company. The object of Biogen's desire is KNS-760704, an experimental therapy for Lou Gehrig's disease which hit its primary endpoint in a Phase II clinical trial. Knopp says that the...