BOSTON — Johnson & Johnson has licensed a potential treatment for inflammatory bowel diseases from a company developing therapies that alter interactions between the immune system and microbes in the body.
J&J’s Janssen Pharmaceutical Cos. unit says Vedanta Biosciences of Boston could receive up to $241 million, including an upfront payment and additional ones if a medicine gets approved for a bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.
The experimental treatment, called VE202, hasn’t been studied in people but has shown effectiveness in animal tests. J&J will handle future testing.
The two companies could expand the partnership to treatments for additional conditions.
Johnson & Johnson, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, is a leader in treatments for inflammatory bowel and other immune disorders, selling Remicade, Simponi and Stelara.
