Deal includes patent estate and royalty stream from dipeptidase IV inhibitor licenses.
Astellas’ biotech subsidiary Prosidion has sold its dipeptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitor patent estate for type 2 diabetes therapy, and the associated royalty stream, to asset acquisition firm Royalty Pharma for $609 million in cash. Prosidion was acquired by Astellas as part of the latter’s buy-out of OSI Pharmaceuticals a year ago.
Under terms of the deal Royalty will receive 100% of royalty payments and milestones relating to the DPP-IV assets and existing licensing deals, and will take over from Prosidion the relevant patent estate and its management. Prosidion acquired a portfolio of medical-use patents relating to the use of DPP-IV inhibitors in the treatment of type 2 diabetes back in 2004, and has since nonexclusively outlicensed the IP to pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
Oxford, U.K.-based Prosidion is dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapies for type 2 diabetes and obesity. Its lead compound PSN821 is an orally administered G protein-coupled receptor GPR119 agonist currently in Phase II development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. A second candidate, PSN842, has completed preclinical development as a potential treatment for obesity.
Astellas says it is also looking at potential options for Prosidion’s non-DPP-IV assets, including its pipeline and R&D capabilities. Possibilities, including a merger or sale of some or all of the assets, or minority investments and strategic alliances, are all being evaluated.
Royalty Pharma invests in revenue-producing intellectual property, and primarily royalty interests in marketed and late-stage development biopharmaceuticals. The firm says it currently owns royalty interests in 17 approved and marketed biopharmaceutical products, and another 5 products undergoing clinical trials and/or regulatory review in the U.S. and Europe.
In April Royalty paid $487 million to acquire the rights to certain royalties payable on sales of the pharmacological stress agent Lexiscan® (regadenoson) and the injectable antibiotic Cubicin® (daptomycin) from an undisclosed seller.
