HQ Team
June 5, 2025: Pfizer Inc. will pay Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. $ 2.5 million as the Swiss biopharmaceutical company exceeded the sales threshold of its antifungal therapy in the Asia Pacific region, triggering a milestone payment.
The license agreement between Basilea and Pfizer for Cresemba covers Europe, excluding the Nordic countries, as well as China and 16 countries in the Asia Pacific region.
The antifungal, Cresemba, clocked sales of $562 million in the twelve months between January and December 2024 — a 19% growth year-on-year. That made Cresemba the largest branded antifungal for invasive fungal infections worldwide, according to a company statement.
“This milestone payment for the Asia Pacific region, including China, reflects the strong and growing global demand for novel antifungal therapies,” said David Veitch, Basilea’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Continued growth of Cresemba, particularly in China, where uptake has been especially robust, reinforces its significant clinical value for patients facing life-threatening infections,” he said.
Cresemba is marketed in more than 70 countries. It is an intravenous and oral azole antifungal.
Basilea has entered into several license and distribution agreements for Cresemba covering approximately 115 countries. In China, the oral and intravenous formulations are approved for the treatment of adult patients with invasive aspergillosis and invasive mucormycosis.
Mucormycosis results from a variety of fungi that may be typically innocuous environmental fungi and primarily affect immunocompromised patients. Aspergillosis is an infection caused by a type of mould or fungus.
The illnesses resulting from aspergillosis infection usually affect the respiratory system, but their signs and severity vary greatly. The mould that triggers the illnesses, aspergillus, is everywhere — indoors and outdoors.
Isavuconazole, branded as Cresemba, is also approved in the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and several additional countries, including in the Asia Pacific region.
Basilea is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2000 and headquartered in Switzerland. The company has two hospital brands, Cresemba for the treatment of invasive fungal infections and Zevtera for the treatment of bacterial infections.
