Alexion’s inlicensing deal for Amyloidosis Candidate In Japan

Alexion Pharmaceuticals announced a license agreement with BridgeBio Pharma’s subsidiary Eidos Therapeutics.

Per the terms of the deal, Alexion will obtain an exclusive license from Eidos to develop and commercialize an investigational, orally-administered small molecule AG10 in Japan. In exchange, the latter will receive an upfront payment of $25 million and an equity investment of $25 million at a premium to the market price from the former upon the deal execution. Also, a possibility of additional milestones and royalty-dependent fees remains.

AG10 has been designed to treat the root cause of transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR) — destabilized and misfolded transthyretin (TTR) protein — by binding and stabilizing TTR in the blood. Eidos is currently evaluating the candidate in a phase III study in the United States and Europe for ATTR cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). Part A of the study will assess the change from baseline in 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) at 12 months while Part B will evaluate reduction in all-cause mortality and frequency of cardiovascular-related hospitalizations at 30 months. This apart, Eidos plans to initiate a phase III study of AG10 for ATTR polyneuropathy (ATTR-PN) in the second half of 2019.

While the deal expands Alexion’s amyloidosis portfolio, it provides Eidos with an opportunity to leverage the company’s substantial development and commercial experience in expanding its AG10 program in Japan.