Sales of Biohaven Pharmaceuticals’ lead migraine drug continue to grow, and the drug developer is now using some of its cash to expand its deals in neuroscience. The first was the acquisition of Channel Bio, a company whose main asset is a potential drug for epilepsy. Separately, Biohaven licensed Bristol Myers Squibb’s drug, which is ready for pivotal testing in spinal muscular atrophy.
New Haven, Connecticut-based Biohaven announced Friday Acquisition of Channel Bio $100 million in cash and stock. Specific financial terms of the BMS deal were not disclosed.
Channel Bio develops drugs targeting the Kv7 ion channel associated with epilepsy and pain. This channel has been validated by other drugs. Channel Bio CEO Michael Bozik said on the conference call that his company’s small molecule offers the potential to work optimally in epilepsy drugs targeting Kv7 by reducing the sleepiness, fatigue and vision problems associated with this class of drugs.
The main target is focal epilepsy, the most common form of the disease in which misfiring electrical activity affects a small area of the brain. The biotech’s lead therapeutic candidate, now named BHV-7000, is a small molecule designed to activate part of the Kv7 pathway involved in neuronal signaling and regulating the hyperexcitability characteristic of epilepsy.
Bozik said his company’s drug is structurally different from two other drugs in its class, ezogabine, a drug marketed by GlaxoSmithKline and Valeant Pharmaceuticals (now Bausch Health Companies) until they discontinued it in 2017. product, while XEN1101 is a drug Xenon Pharmaceuticals has entered mid-stage testing for focal epilepsy. Channel Bio’s platform has yielded a library of small molecules that could expand Kv7 targeting to other indications, Bozik said. A clinical trial testing the lead asset in focal epilepsy is expected to begin later this year.
Channel Bio is a subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Knopp Biosciences. The upfront payment to Knopp is split between $65 million in Biohaven stock and $35 million in cash. With approvals in the U.S., Europe and Japan, Knopp could garner up to $325 million in additional revenue through the development and regulatory progress of BHV-7000. Up to $250 million is tied to the development and approval of Kv7-targeted drugs in other indications. Sales-based milestones could bring in another $562.5 million, plus royalties.
go through license With BMS drug taldefgropep alfa, Biohaven is betting it can revive a project that failed in a rare muscle disease. The drug is a fusion protein that targets and blocks myostatin, a protein that inhibits muscle growth. By blocking this protein, scientists hope the drug will improve muscle mass.
In 2019, Roche discontinued Drug studies in Duchenne muscular dystrophy after an interim analysis of clinical data suggested the therapy was unlikely to help patients. The Swiss pharma giant returned the rights to the drug to BMS.
Biohaven now plans to see if taldefgrobep’s ability to block myostatin could help patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a different genetic disorder that also causes progressive muscle weakness. Biohaven Chief Executive Vlad Coric said that although the drug failed to live up to expectations in Duchenne, early clinical studies have provided substantial safety data for the drug.he added clinical data Research from biotech company Scholar Rock shows that blocking myostatin can treat SMA.
“This is really a clinical proof of concept that’s driving our interest in the field,” Corrick said on the conference call. “We also noticed that there are other competitors. Roche, they also have a myostatin targeting agent. So, given the recent clinical [proof of concept] There. We believe this has the potential to be a first-in-class myostatin targeting agent. “
Biohaven acquires global rights to taldefgropep. BMS is eligible for milestone payments related to regulatory approvals, as well as royalties on sales. A Phase 3 clinical trial is expected to begin later this year. The study will test the drug alongside standard-of-care SMA drugs.
Biohaven’s acquisition was announced Friday alongside its fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 financial results. Biohaven reported that its migraine drug Nurtec had revenue of $462.5 million for the year and $63.6 million in 2020. The drug is also poised for global growth. last November, Pfizer acquires rights to Biohaven migraine drug outside U.S. in $500 million cash-and-stock deal
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