Axovant buys more gene therapies, setting it up for a busy 2019
Questex LLC | December 14, 2018
Axovant has licensed two gene therapies from the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS). The deal accelerates Axovant’s evolution into a gene therapy specialist by giving it control of two assets that are in or near the clinic. Following the failures of intepirdine and nelotanserin, Axovant purged its pipeline of small molecules and set out to buy a roster of gene therapies. The pivot got underway with a deal for clinical-phase Parkinson’s disease gene therapy AXO-Lenti-PD in June and continued with the licensing of a gene therapy treatment for oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) the following month. While the OPMD gene therapy is due to enter human testing next year, the pivot nonetheless left Axovant’s clinical pipeline looking a little light. The latest gene therapy deal goes some way toward addressing that issue.
Axovant is paying UMMS $10 million upfront for the rights to two gene therapies designed to treat GM1 and GM2 gangliosidosis, lysosomal storage disorders that cause the potentially fatal buildup of toxic gangliosides. The deal commits Axovant to up to $24.5 million in development and regulatory milestones, plus up to $39.8 million in commercial milestones and tiered mid-single-digit royalties.