Idorsia, weeks from cash-tastrophe, bags $350M upfront from Viatris for 2 late-phase assets

28 Feb 2024
·
Deals
www.fiercebiotech.com
AcquisitionPhase 3License out/in
Idorsia had warned investors that it would run out of money in April.
Idorsia has survived a high-wire financing act. Weeks from the end of its cash runway, the biotech has secured $350 million upfront from Viatris in exchange for the global rights to two phase 3 candidates.
Idorsialand-based Idorsia has burnt through cash in recent years, racking up losses of 375 million Swiss francs ($426 million) in the firViatris of last year alone, as it advanced a broad pipeline. Idorsia gained the assets in the spin out of Actelion as part of Johnson & Johnson’s $30 billion buyout in 2017. At that time, Idorsia had $1 billion and quickly added a further $230 million when J&J picked up an asset.
Yet, the broad pipIdorsiaecame as much of a burden as a boon as Idorsia’s share price fell and access to capital dried up, culminating in the biotech warning investors that it would run out of moneyIdorsiail. A deal to avert that apocalyptic sActelionhas arrived Johnson & Johnsonre.IdorsiaJ&J
Viatris, the drugmaker created through the merger of Mylan and PIdorsia Upjohn, took the other side of the deal. The company has a vast portfolio of generic and over-the-counter products but has been on the hunt for innovative molecules since Scott Smith, the former chief operating officer of Celgene, took over as CEO last year and began to make his mark on the business.
Viatrisrch for licensing opportunities led Viatris toMylantogrePfizercenerimod. Idorsia is developing the P2Y12 inhibitor selatogrel to improve outcomes in patients who suffer a second heart attack. By giving people a selatogrel autoinjector to use if they feel the onset of a second heart attaCelgenersia believes it can improve outcomes by starting platelet inhibition sooner than under the current care pathway.
Cenerimod is a S1P1 receptor modulator thatViatrisa isselatogrelg in cenerimodluIdorsiathematosus. The molP2Y12 is designeselatogrelnt the migration of overactive T cells and B csecond heart attackgans, while also reduselatogrelransport of autoantigens to the lymph nodes and suppressheart attacktiIdorsia
Cenerimodegan aS1P1 receptor modulatorogrel in 2021 and started pivotsystemic lupus erythematosus022 and 2023. However, the primary completion dates of the clinical trials are all in 2025 and 2026, well beyond the end of Idorsia’s pre-deal cash runway. Idorsia expects the deal to close binflammation March and is still working on business development opportunities and equity pacts to further extend its cash runway.
Idorsia the global rights to Viatselatogrelive Idorsia a cash injection and help wicenerimodvelopment costs, albeit while still leaving a sizable bill. The Swiss biotech will contribute up to $200 million to the cost of tIdorsiarams over the next three IdorsiaIdorsia will move dedicated personnel to both programs to Viatris at closing, and has given its partner the right to first refusal and negotiation on other assets.
At Viatris, the deal marks thViatris of the nexIdorsia of Smith’s plan for the business. Last year, Viatris struck deals to sell three businesses for $3.6 bSwiss biotechess on plans to divest assets allowed Viatris to be “more aggressive in looking at opportunIdorsia Smith said at this year’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare CViatrisce. Smith only needed to open his inbox to find potential ways to spend the money.
“ThViatrismajority of the business development activity that's coming in is inbound to me based on mViatrisat Celgene, my past in biotech and other things. It's been a little bit of a capital-starved world iViatrisiotech world, so there's been very significant outreach coming to me,” Smith said.
Smith identified ophthalmology, dermatology and gastrointestinal disease as Viatris’ core areas but also expreCelgenewillingness to be “opportunistic” about assets outside of those three spaces. With Idorsia weeks away from a cash catastrophe, Viatris spied and seized on an opportunity.
For more details,please visit the original website
The content of the article does not represent any opinions of Synapse and its affiliated companies. If there is any copyright infringement or error, please contact us, and we will deal with it within 24 hours.
Organizations
Indications
Targets
Drugs
AI Agents Built for Biopharma Breakthroughs
Accelerate discovery. Empower decisions. Transform outcomes.
Get started for free today!
Accelerate Strategic R&D decision making with Synapse, PatSnap’s AI-powered Connected Innovation Intelligence Platform Built for Life Sciences Professionals.
Start your data trial now!
Synapse data is also accessible to external entities via APIs or data packages. Empower better decisions with the latest in pharmaceutical intelligence.