On August 23rd, two separate deals occurred involving licenses to drug candidates for the treatment of serious infections.
Productos Científicos S.A. de C.V. (PC), a leading privately-held Mexican pharmaceutical company, purchased a license to Taigexyn® in Latin America from privately-held TaiGen Biotechnology Company Limited. Taigexyn® (nemonoxacin) is a novel antibiotic for the treatment of bacterial infections, including those caused by drug resistant bacteria, which has proven its efficacy in Phase I, II and III clinical studies.
According to IMS Health, Latin-America’s pharmaceutical market is projected to grow 9-12% from 2016-2020, faster than the projected 3-6% in more developed areas such as the U.S., E.U. and Japan. Through this partnership with PC, TaiGen gains access to a high-growth market with a large unmet medical need for drug-resistant infection treatment.
That same day, Cyon Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-phase biotechnology company and a spin-out of the University of British Columbia, purchased the license to LGT209 from Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS). A completed Phase 1 study showed that LGT209 was well tolerated and effective in lowering cholesterol, which is expected to prevent and improve outcomes in patients with or at risk for sepsis. The licensing deal brings with it worldwide rights for use in SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome) and the prevention and treatment of sepsis. Cyon plans to immediately move on to a Phase II clinical program.
Neither of these deals have disclosed prices, but both include regulatory and commercial milestone payments.