JNJ-74765340

Bota-vec has already been tested in a phase 1/2 study in adult and pediatric populations with the genetic disease X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, which causes blindness. MeiraGTx has handed off the remaining interests for a rare disease gene therapy to Johnson & Johnson in a deal that could reach $415 million. The agreement involves botaretigene sparoparvovec, or bota-vec, formerly AAV-RPGR, which is in development for X-linked retinitis pigmentosa. The therapy was developed through a partnership with J&J’s Janssen unit, but now the healthcare giant wants the whole program. Bota-vec has already been tested in a phase 1/2 study in adult and pediatric populations with the genetic disease that causes blindness, while a late-stage study completed enrollment this year. J&J’s Janssen pharmaceuticals unit will hand over $130 million upfront plus near-term milestones, with an additional $285 million possible upon first commercial sales in the U.S. and EU, according to the Thursday release. An initial milestone payment of $50 million is expected in the first quarter of 2024, MeiraGTx said. The companies have also reached to a commercial supply and technology transfer agreement for bota-vec. The J&J deal will help MeiraGTx shore up its resources heading into 2024. The upfront payment and near-term milestones, combined with an additional $30 million investment from French Big Pharma Sanofi in another deal received recently, will extend the biotech’s cash runway into mid-2026. MeiraGTx announced the Sanofi investment in October and told Fierce Biotech at the time that the company was seeking monetization of some pipeline assets as well. The J&J deal fits right into those efforts. Sanofi nabbed the right to access a first look at data from programs in immunology and inflammation, central nervous disorders and GLP-1 and other gut peptides for metabolic diseases. This could someday drum up deals between the two companies. Speaking of Sanofi, the French pharma did a little dealmaking of its own on Thursday when AI drug discovery-focused Exscientia announced that the two companies have expanded on a previous deal. The boosted pact now includes a new discovery stage program that the biotech had previously discovered and advanced. Details were slim, but the partners have an outstanding deal for up to 15 small molecules across oncology and immunology. Sanofi will now hand over $45 million extra upfront, plus milestones and other payments that could reach $300 million and royalties.