Lundbeck Pays Genmab €7.5 Up Front in Deal Focused on CNS Diseases

Development and commercialization milestones will add another €38 million.

Lundbeck is paying Genmab €7.5 million (roughly $10.5 million) up front as part of a collaboration agreement to develop antibody therapeutics for CNS diseases. Under terms of the collaboration Genmab will generate antibodies against three Lundbeck targets. If all development and commercialization milestones are achieved Genmab could earn another €38 million.

Lundbeck retains the option to take resulting antibodies through clinical development for relevant indications and will be responsible for all associated costs. The company will also have access to its partner’s antibody generation and development expertise and therapeutic antibody platforms. Genmab in addition retains an option to take selected antibodies into clinical development for cancer indications, at its own cost, in return for paying Lundbeck milestones and royalties.

Genmab CEO, Jan van de Winkel, says that the deal “gives Genmab the opportunity to leverage our antibody technology and expertise and to expand our pipeline into a new and exciting therapeutic area without assuming a financial obligation.”

Peter Hongaard Anderson, evp and head of research at Lundbeck adds, “The new partnership follows Lundbeck’s new R&D strategy to ensure we have the most efficient platform for the future discovery and development of drugs that will be able to help and treat biologically defined groups of patients with brain diseases.”