Allergan and Heptares Therapeutics, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Sosei Group Corporation have entered into an agreement under which Allergan will license exclusive global rights to a broad portfolio of novel subtype-selective muscarinic receptor agonists in development for the treatment of major neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease.
Under the terms of the agreement, as Allergan had explained on Wednesday, Heptares will receive an upfront payment of $125 million and is eligible to receive contingent milestone payments of up to approximately $665 million associated with the successful Phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical development and launch of the first three licensed compounds for multiple indications and up to approximately $2.5 billion associated with achieving certain annual sales thresholds during the several years following launch.
In addition, Heptares is eligible to receive up to double-digit tiered royalties on net sales of all products resulting from the partnership. Allergan is also committing up to $50 million to a research and development program to be conducted jointly by Allergan and Heptares aimed at advancing multiple candidates through Phase 2 clinical studies. Allergan will be responsible for the development of licensed compounds upon initiation of Phase 2b studies and for subsequent manufacturing and commercialization of the products.
“Cognitive impairment and psychosis are progressive and debilitating symptoms associated with many CNS diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, with few approved therapies available,” said David Nicholson, Executive Vice President and President, Global Brands Research and Development at Allergan. “The Heptares M1 compounds have shown promising results in early development in their ability to selectively target the M1 receptor without also activating the M2 or M3 receptors, which are associated with undesirable side effects. We look forward to advancing these compounds into the next stages of development, and potentially adding new approaches to helping physicians treat patients suffering from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, an area of medicine where Allergan remains committed to continued innovation.”