Monday, April 1, 2013

EPI 743 gets $545 million from Japan's Dainippon Sumitomo

This is a HUGE win!! If you happened to watch that TED Talk I posted a few days ago, it talks about how many years it takes to get a drug from testing to market (14 years) and how much money (billions).


Edison Pharma Inks potential $545M Deal with Japan’s Dainippon
March 29, 2013 
 
From BioWorld: ”Privately held Edison Pharmaceuticals Inc. wooed a big pharma partner, inking an R&D and commercialization agreement with Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd. (DSP) to develop lead program EPI-743 and follow-on molecule EPI-589 in Japan.

Terms called for Edison to receive $35 million up front and $15 million in R&D support. The Mountain View, Calif.-based biotech also will be eligible to receive $10 million to $35 million in development milestones per indication and up to $460 million in commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on commercial sales. DSP gained development and commercialization rights to the compounds in Japan, but no ownership or control over development activities elsewhere.

EPI-743 is an orally bioavailable small molecule in development for inherited mitochondrial diseases. A member of the para-benzoquinone class of drugs, the compound targets the enzyme NADPH quinone oxidoreductase 1. EPI-743 is in U.S. Phase IIb trials in Leigh syndrome and in Friedreich’s ataxia, both ultra-rare indications.

The initial scope of the transaction includes both pediatric orphan inherited mitochondrial and adult central nervous system diseases. DSP will assume activities required for development, approval and commercialization of EPI-743 in Japan, initially focusing on orphan pediatric mitochondrial disease.”

And another story on it here, including an interview from Guy Miller, Edison Pharma's CEO. 
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Research/Nutrition-2.0-Closer-than-you-think-and-a-tremendous-technical-and-business-opportunity


Hopefully all this will come to fruition quickly to help this little guy keep smiling!

3 comments:

  1. Any idea what this means for those of us whose kids are already on the drug?? Will we still be able to get it from Stanford??

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  2. Tera - no idea. I plan to listen in on Friday's EPI-743 conference call. Will try and do a blog post on the call Friday afternoon for anyone who can't attend.

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  3. Wow, thanks for sharing this news. This could be the treatment I've waited for...

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