AstraZeneca’s early research on difficult-to-treat forms of epilepsy attracted the attention of Ovid Therapeutics, which is Obtain The global rights of preclinical small molecules are similar to the epilepsy drug alliance previously reached between the biotech company and Takeda Pharmaceuticals.
According to the terms of the transaction announced on Monday, New York-based Ovid will pay AstraZeneca an upfront payment of US$12.5 million, splitting publicly traded Ovid shares into US$5 million in cash and US$7.5 million. The milestone payment may bring $203 million in revenue to the pharmaceutical giant.
There are many forms of epilepsy, with different causes, but broadly speaking, the epilepsy features of the disease stem from bursts of electrical activity in the brain. The AstraZeneca molecule targets KCC2, which is a transporter that plays a key role in maintaining chlorine homeostasis in neurons. The pharmaceutical giant has been collaborating with scientists at Tufts University to study how defects in this protein can lead to epilepsy and other neurological diseases. The most advanced KCC2 targeting small molecule from AstraZeneca is called OV350. According to Ovid, by activating KCC2, OV350 is believed to block the hyperexcitability of neurons associated with epilepsy.
In addition to solving refractory epilepsy, OV350 may also bring side effects to patients. In preclinical studies, the drug does not cause sedation, which is a common side effect of currently available antiepileptic drugs. As Ovid takes over the AstraZeneca molecule, the company said it will continue to work with Stephen Moss and Jamie Maguire of the Tufts Basic and Translational Neuroscience Research Laboratory and Aaron Goldman of Harvard Medical School.
Ovid has been looking to rebuild its pipeline after late-stage clinical trials Fail In 2020, the company’s experimental treatment of Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic neurological disease. The Ovid pipeline includes the epilepsy drug soticlestat developed in cooperation with Takeda. The molecule originated in Takeda’s laboratory and was licensed to Ovid in 2017.
Last year, Takeda acquired Ovid’s rights to the drug. The deal was reached after the 2020 Phase 2 results of Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, two rare epilepsy disorders. Under the initial cooperation, the partners jointly developed soticlestat and shared its commercialization equally. instead, Takeda paid $196 million in advance to obtain Ovid’s rights to the moleculeWhen the deal was announced in March last year, Ovid CEO Jeremy Levin (Jeremy Levin) stated that his company will seek to increase its channels through the transaction, possibly reaching a deal similar to the Takeda partnership.
If Ovid can commercialize any molecule authorized by AstraZeneca, the biotech company will pay the pharmaceutical giant for sales. But AstraZeneca can also join the development of drug candidates resulting from the agreement. According to the terms of the transaction, when a candidate drug for epilepsy shows evidence of efficacy in clinical trials, AstraZeneca will have the right to negotiate a priority on the drug’s strategic cooperation.
“The KCC2 transporter is an exciting new target, and we believe it has great potential in the treatment of epilepsy,” Levine said in a prepared statement. “These compounds are a great fit for our franchise dedicated to small molecule epilepsy drugs, and they follow our record of successful collaborations with large pharmaceutical companies.”
Now the development of soticlestat is in the hands of Takeda. Ovid’s most advanced project is OV329, which is a drug being developed to treat tuberous sclerosis and infantile spasms. Ovid expects this small molecule will enter the clinic later this year.
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