An organization growing a drug for a rare genetic disease that causes developmental disabilities has made a licensing deal with an Italian agency for unique rights in Europe.
New York-based Ovid Therapeutics said Monday that it had signed an settlement with Rome-based Angelini Pharma that will grant the latter firm unique improvement, manufacturing and commercialization rights for the drug gaboxadol within the European Union, European Economic Area, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Russia. Also generally known as OV101, gaboxadol is in a Phase III trial in sufferers with Angelman syndrome, topline outcomes from that are anticipated within the fourth quarter of this 12 months.
Shares of Ovid rose 7% Monday morning following the information and had been up 2.7% from their opening worth Tuesday afternoon on the Nasdaq. Angelini is a personal firm with a major neurology enterprise.
Angelini pays Ovid $20 million upfront milestone funds of up to $212.5 million, in addition to royalties. Gaboxadol is delta-selective GABA-A receptor agonist and, in accordance to Ovid, is believed to be the one such drug. The Phase III study, NEPTUNE, started in September 2019 and is enrolling up to 95 sufferers, in accordance to ClinicalTrials.gov.
“Angelini Pharma is an ideal partner for Europe as they have deep regional knowledge, an established infrastructure with a history of successful product launches and a commitment to improving the quality of life of the patient communities they serve,” Ovid CEO Jeremy Levin stated in a press release. “Finding the right partners to bring OV101 to the Angelman community as rapidly as possible is a core part of our global strategy.”
In a observe to traders Tuesday, Cowen analyst Ritu Baral wrote that the deal is total a constructive for Ovid as a result of it strengthens the corporate’s steadiness sheet whereas giving it help with commercialization in key European territories and Russia. She cited market analysis by Ovid estimating that there could also be about 26,000 sufferers with Angelman syndrome within the prime 5 European Union international locations, making it an essential market for the industrial success of remedies for the disease.