Acorda”™s drug tablets headed for Europe
Biogen Idec, a licensing partner of Hawthorne-based Acorda Therapeutics Inc., expects in September to begin marketing Acorda”™s extended-release drug tablets for multiple sclerosis patients in the European Union.
Fampyra, the European trade name for the Acorda product, dalfampridine, that is sold as Ampyra in the U.S., has been conditionally approved by a European Union commission. Biogen, headquartered in Weston, Mass., said it will begin making the drug available on a country by country basis next month.
As part of their foreign license agreement, Biogen will pay Acorda royalties based on net sales outside the U.S. and milestone payments based on new indications and foreign net sales. The milestones include a current $25 million payment for successful licensing of the product in the European Union.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January 2010 approved Ampyra as a treatment to improve walking in persons impaired by MS. Acorda reported net revenue of $133.1 million for the 10 months that the product was on the market last year. Ampyra sales generated net revenue of $46.8 million in the first quarter this year.
Yonkers BID moves
The South Broadway Business Improvement District in Yonkers has relocated its business office to 8 St. Andrews Place, said Michael Littmann, executive director of the neighborhood business group. The office has been at 487 S. Broadway.
Littman in his announcement said the move from rear second-floor space to a ground-floor location at the corner of South Broadway and St. Andrews Place is “part of an overall effort to connect more with the merchants and business and property owners of South Broadway.”
The BID includes about 250 merchants and business owners along a 1.5-mile commercial strip south of downtown Yonkers.
The office phone number and zip code are unchanged.
Auto dealer drives donations to Blythedale
Mercedes-Benz of White Plains will donate $100 to Blythedale Children”™s Hospital in Valhalla for every new car sold in July by the luxury auto dealer.
The fundraising project is part of The Pulse of Westchester, a social media initiative started by Gary Turco, general manager of the Mercedes-Benz dealership, to drive traffic to local merchants in selected Westchester communities.
Facebook fans of Mercedes-Benz of White Plains could print and present an ad when buying a new Mercedes last month to have $100 donated to Blythedale Children”™s Hospital in their name.
