Novartis to Pay for Drug Rights

Novartis will pay as much as $570 million to Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc. for rights to a treatment for hepatitis, an illness that affects more than 500 million people.

The Swiss company will pay $20 million now, with $550 million linked to regulatory hurdles and market success, Anadys said in a statement Thursday.

San Diego-based Anadys will be due $10 million after the successful filing of an investigational new drug application with U.S. regulators, clearing the way for testing in hepatitis C patients, according to the statement. The submission is planned for midyear.

Novartis is working with Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. on medicines for hepatitis B, which affects 350 million people. The Anadys drug, ANA 975, may be used to treat hepatitis C, which affects 170 million people.

Shares of Anadys rose $1.61, or 24%, to $8.37 on Thursday after rising as much as 42% earlier in the day. Novartis shares rose 42 cents to $49.53.