ChemoCentryx receives $50M up front as part of co-development agreement for CCR2 inhibitor CCX140

Vifor Pharma and ChemoCentryx have added a second kidney disease therapeutic candidate to their existing renal diseases collaboration. The expanded deal covers ChemoCentryx’s oral CCR2 inhibitor, CCX140, which has successfully completed a Phase II study in patients with diabetic kidney disease. Under terms of the new agreement, the two firms will jointly develop CCX140 in rare kidney diseases, with Vifor Pharma retaining the option to solely develop and commercialize the drug for more prevalent forms of kidney disease.

Vifor will pay ChemoCentryx $50 million in up-front fees, plus development, regulatory, and sales milestones and tiered, double-digit sales royalties. ChemoCentryx retains marketing rights for the rare renal diseases indications in the U.S. and China, with Vifor holding marketing rights for the rest of the world. If Vifor exercises its option to develop CCX140 for the chronic kidney disease indication, it will receive worldwide rights to the drug for that indication and take on all development activities, with ChemoCentryx receiving U.S. co-promotion rights to CCX140 for CKD. 

In May 2016 Vifor Pharma licensed rights to ChemoCentryx’s Phase III-ready C5aR inhibitor CCX168 (avacopan), for orphan and rare renal diseases, in Europe and several other ex-U.S. markets.

“CCX140 is a highly innovative approach, which is implicated in a number of kidney diseases, including diabetic nephropathy,” commented Gianni Zampieri, CEO of Switzerland-based Vifor. “We look forward to working with ChemoCentryx to develop both CCX140 and the C5aR inhibitor avacopan as potential new treatment options for patients suffering from serious kidney diseases.”

ChemoCentryx claims to be the only company focused exclusively on the discovery, development, and commercialization of small-molecule therapeutics that target the chemoattractant system. The firm’s clinical pipeline also includes another CCR2 inhibitor, CCX872, which is undergoing Phase I development as a potential pancreatic cancer therapy, in combination with FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy.

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