Kaye Scholer Advises Columbia Laboratories in Sale of Progesterone Franchise to Watson Pharmaceuticals

Kaye Scholer advised Columbia Laboratories, Inc. in an agreement to sell substantially all of its progesterone-related assets and 11.2 million shares of common stock to Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for upfront and milestone payments of up to $92.5 million, plus royalties of 10 to 20 percent of annual net sales of certain progesterone products.

Watson Pharmaceuticals will acquire the exclusive U.S. rights to Columbia Laboratories' bioadhesive progesterone gel products currently marketed under the trade names Crinone® and Prochieve® for the indications of infertility and secondary amenorrhea.  Columbia and Watson will collaborate with the National Institute of Health on the Phase III program called PREGNANT (PROCHIEVE Extending GestatioN A New Therapy), evaluating the use of Prochieve to reduce the risk of preterm birth in women with short cervixes, as well as a global development program for second-generation products for reducing premature birth and infertility.

The Kaye Scholer team was led by Adam H. Golden, and included Steven G. Canner and Holly Holloway.