Cempra Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing antibiotics, announced Tuesday the receipt of a $10 million payment from its Japanese business partner

The payment from Toyama Chemical Co., a subsidiary of FujiFilm Holdings Corp., comes after Cempra’s flagship drug, Solithromycin, has begun phase three studies in Japan, the world’s second-largest antibiotic market. Toyama owns exclusive rights to develop and sell the bacterial pneumonia-fighting drug in Japan.

Earlier this year, Toyama completed a phase two study to test the drug. The study was similar in design to the phase three study conducted by Cempra for the Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency.

In addition to the $10 million payment for progressing to phase three, Cempra has also previously received $30 million and can earn an additional $30 million, for a total of $70 million, in payments from Toyama based on the achievement of certain objectives.

If approved, Toyama would pay royalties to Cempra following the launch of Solithromycin in Japan.

During its Oct. 27 earnings call, Cempra announced that the FDA might not approve the Indian manufacturing plant where Solithromycin is manufactured.

An FDA advisory committee will meet on Nov. 4 to discuss its recommendation with independent advice from outside experts; a positive recommendation typically leads to FDA approval.

Cempra said FDA setbacks could create an additional delay of nine months or more in approving Solithromycin.

The study targeted non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, liver inflammation and damage caused by a buildup of fat in the liver, which affects between 2 percent and 5 percent of the U.S. population and eventually leads to liver cancer in a subset of patients. Most people experience no symptoms in early stages of the disease.

Cempura shares fell 21 percent to $18.50 after the company announced its third-quarter earnings report on Oct. 27. Its shares are trading at $18.05 per share on Tuesday.

Cempra was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Note: This story is from the North Carolina Business News Wire, a service of UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Media and Journalism