Seres to sell microbiome therapy Vowst to Nestlé to pay off debt
Phase 1License out/inDrug ApprovalCell Therapy
A little over a year after securing the first FDA-approved oral microbiome treatment, Seres Therapeutics is now looking to sell its flagship asset to partner Nestlé Health Science. No figures were specified in the release announcing a memorandum of understanding with Nestlé on Thursday, but Seres says the deal would "fully retire its debt" and extend its cash runway into the fourth quarter of 2025.
Vowst, formerly SER-109, is an orally administered therapeutic that received FDA approval in April 2023 to prevent repeat Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) in adults following antibacterial treatment for recurrent CDI.
'Extremely successful' launch
Moreno Perugini, president of medical nutrition and pharma at Nestlé Health Science, said Vowst "has been extremely successful since we first made it available to patients in June of last year… and we are pleased to continue to provide this important medication to patients."
Seres reported in March that the microbiome therapy reached sales of $19.6 million in 2023 based on 1284 units sold, while the company's share of the Vowst net loss last year was $18.9 million. For the first quarter of 2024, Vowst generated revenue of $10.1 million, based on 642 units sold.
Seres and Nestlé Health Science entered into a co-exclusive license agreement for the development and commercialisation of Vowst in 2021 in a deal potentially worth over $520 million. Under the new arrangement, Nestlé Health Science will acquire full ownership of the Vowst product and related intellectual property rights.
Focus on SER-155
"We plan to use the capital from this pending transaction to retire our existing debt facility and strengthen our balance sheet," Seres CEO Eric Shaff stated. "These actions enable [us] to enter an exciting next phase as we move SER-155 and other wholly-owned cultivated microbiome therapeutic candidates forward to important milestones."
Seres expects to receive "capital infusions" from the divestiture, including an upfront payment, but did not provide specific numbers. Late last year, the company unveiled a restructuring that will hit 41% of its workforce, leading to savings of approximately $75 million to $85 million in 2024..
SER-155 is currently in a Phase Ib study in patients undergoing allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. According to Seres, the candidate could potentially reduce the incidence and severity of gastrointestinal and related bloodstream infections, as well as the risk of acute graft-versus-host disease.
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