Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
A hepatitis C bet that leaned on hype: InterMune's CEO said PEG-Infergen 'will generate $750 million dollars,' but the October 2002 collaboration's own financial terms were never disclosed.
Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →Inhale will provide expertise and exclusive manufacturing for the reagent used in the PEGylation of Infergen, while InterMune will be responsible for…
It's been a decade since Roche bought InterMune for $8.3 billion on the promise of its idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) therapy Esbriet; Esbriet was able to…
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In October 2002, InterMune Inc. and Inhale Therapeutic Systems Inc. entered a collaboration to develop a PEGylated formulation of Infergen (interferon alfacon-1), branded PEG-Infergen, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Inhale contributed its PEGylation technology and exclusive manufacturing of the PEGylation reagent, while InterMune was responsible for preclinical and clinical development and North American commercialization. Inhale was eligible for milestone payments as the program advanced through the clinic plus royalties on product sales; specific financial terms were not disclosed.
$750M InterMune CEO projection for PEG-Infergen revenue (USD mm)
Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a bloodborne RNA virus causing progressive liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. In 2002, ~3.2 million Americans had chronic HCV and the disease accounted for more deaths than HIV/AIDS. Standard of care was 24-48 weeks of pegylated interferon plus ribavirin — a regimen with severe flu-like side effects, depression, and ~50% sustained virologic response in genotype 1 patients.
The 2002 HCV market was a two-horse pegylated interferon race: Schering-Plough's PEG-Intron (peginterferon alfa-2b, launched 2001) and Roche's Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a, launched late 2002), each paired with ribavirin. InterMune held US rights to Infergen (interferon alfacon-1, a non-PEGylated 'consensus' interferon) licensed from Amgen in January 2002 for ~$29 million up-front and milestone fees. The InterMune/Inhale October 2002 deal aimed to PEGylate Infergen using Shearwater's technology to compete head-on with Schering-Plough and Roche; per BioWorld, CEO Scott Harkonen projected PEG-Infergen 'we believe will generate $750 million dollars for InterMune', with clinical trials expected H1 2003 and launch in 2007. The deal mattered because it was a bet on differentiation in a category where pegylation was rapidly becoming table stakes. Forward look: PEG-Infergen never reached the market — InterMune pivoted to pirfenidone for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (Esbriet, EU approval 2011, US 2014). Roche acquired InterMune for $8.3 billion in August 2014 on the IPF thesis, then divested the InterMune unit and US Esbriet rights to Legacy Pharma in February 2025 after Esbriet sales collapsed from $1B in 2021 to ~$200M in 2023 post-genericization. Infergen itself was discontinued in September 2013 as direct-acting antivirals (Sovaldi, Harvoni) made all interferons obsolete.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| InterMune Inc. / Inhale Therapeutic Systems Inc. (this deal) | 2002 | — | — |
| Roche Holding AG / Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. | 2002 | $1.4B | 100 |
| Gilead Sciences Inc. / Triangle Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2002 | $464M | 96 |
| Amgen Inc. / Immunex Corporation | 2002 | $16.0B | 92 |
| Novartis AG / Lek Pharmaceuticals d.d. | 2002 | $876M | 88 |
| Bayer AG / BlueRock Therapeutics | 2002 | $600M | 79 |
| Novartis AG / Hexal AG | 2002 | $8.3B | 75 |
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