BIONOMICS IN MULTIPLE $50m DEALS WITH MERCK FOR MS
June 22nd 2008 08:24
Thursday June 19, 2008
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BIONOMICS
Merck Serono will pay Bionomics multiples of $50 million to develop treatments for multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune conditions based on compounds from Bionomics Kv1.3 program.
Bionomics said Merck Serono was a division of Germany’s Merck KGaA.
The compounds discovered by Bionomics, around which the collaboration will focus, target the potassium ion channel Kv1.3.
Bionomics said Kv1.3 was a key modulator of the immune system and it was a target found on human immune cells which were associated with nerve cell damage in patients with multiple sclerosis.
Inhibitors of Kv1.3 have been shown to inhibit the proliferation of these immune cells, suggesting that they have application in the treatment of multiple sclerosis and potentially other autoimmune conditions, including arthritis.
Bionomics said it would receive an upfront payment of $US2 million and committed research funding.
Merck Serono will fund all development activities, including clinical development.
Merck Serono intends to select compounds from Bionomics’ pool of compounds and for each compound selected by Merck Serono, Bionomics may receive milestone payments of up to $US47 million ($A49.7 million) per compound, based on successful development and commercialization.
In addition, Bionomics will be eligible to receive undisclosed royalties on the net sales of licensed products.
Merck Serono’s executive vice-president of research Dr Bernhard Kirschbaum said the partnership with Bionomics “reflects our long-term commitment to patients with MS as Kv1.3 inhibition represents an innovative approach for the discovery of oral compounds in the field of MS”.
He said the research and development collaboration brought together “Bionomics’ expertise in Kv1.3 biology and Merck Serono’s expertise in [multiple sclerosis] pharmacology in a combination that could speed up progress in the identification of novel drug candidates for the treatment of [multiple sclerosis]”.
Bionomics chief executive officer Dr Deborah Rathjen said Merck Serono was “the ideal partner for Bionomics in this Kv1.3 program”.
“The agreement with Merck Serono is an important milestone for our company,” Dr Rathjen said.
“It validates Bionomics’ discovery approach, which has brought the program to this stage,” Dr Rathjen said.
“We look forward to working with Merck Serono in the next stage to bring innovative treatment options for patients with [multiple sclerosis] to the clinic”.
Bionomics said multiple sclerosis was a chronic, inflammatory condition of the nervous system and is the most common, non-traumatic, neurological disease in young adults.
The World Health Organization estimates that up to 2.5 million people have multiple sclerosis. The relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis are the most common.
Merck Serono is a leader in multiple sclerosis with Rebif (interferon beta-1a), a disease-modifying drug used to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, which is registered in more than 80 countries worldwide.
Merck Serono has a second therapy, Novantrone (mitoxantrone for injection concentrate) for worsening forms of multiple sclerosis. Other options are under development, including oral cladribine, currently in phase III and potentially the first oral therapy for multiple sclerosis, as well as several products in early stage development.
Bionomics climbed two cents or 5.56 percent to 38 cents.
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