** Shares of drugmaker Acorda Therapeutics Inc ACOR.O rise
~17% to $0.58 premarket
** Co enters into distribution and supply agreements with
Chance Pharmaceuticals to provide Parkinson's disease (PD) drug
Inbrija in China
** Acorda to receive an upfront payment of $2.5 mln, and
certain milestone payments of up to $141.5 million from Chance,
apart from a fixed fee for each carton of Inbrija supplied -
ACOR
** Adds Chance plans to seek regulatory authorization "as
quickly as possible" for the drug in China
** Inbrija is approved in the U.S. for intermittent
treatment of "off" episodes in adults with PD treated with
carbidopa/levodopa, which is the standard of care for the
disease
** An "off" episode is a time when a patient's medications
are not working well, causing an increase in PD symptoms
** As of last close, stock is down ~35% this year
(Reporting by Raghav Mahobe)
((Raghav.Mahobe@thomsonreuters.com;))