BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMA TECH
Indivior | March 06, 2023
Indivior PLC, a global pharmaceutical company, recently announced its successful acquisition of Opiant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The acquisition strengthens Indivior's addiction treatment and science portfolio by adding Opiant's late-stage assets. In particular, OPNT003, an investigational opioid overdose treatment, aims to provide an effective treatment option to address the current wave of opioid overdose caused by powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
Indivior acquired Opiant for an upfront consideration of $20.00 per share in cash, summing to approximately $145 million and up to $8.00 per share in contingent value rights (CVRs). The CVRs will become payable if OPNT003 meets certain net revenue milestones within seven years after approval and launch. The acquisition was completed after meeting customary conditions, and Indivior funded the upfront consideration with its existing cash. It expects OPNT003 to generate net revenue of 150 million to 250 million dollars and the acquisition to be earnings accretive after the second year of launch. The company plans to provide updated guidance for FY 2023 with its Q1 results announcement on April 27, 2023.
OPNT003 is a patent-protected intranasal formulation of nalmefene. It employs an absorption-enhancing technology to improve its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile, resulting in a fast-acting and long-lasting duration of action that helps OPNT003 as a possible new treatment option for opioid overdose. On December 22, 2022, Opiant completed its rolling NDA for OPNT003. OPNT003's FDA PDUFA date is May 22, 2023. One formulation patent (expiry 2038) and five other patent applications cover various aspects of OPNT003, including treatment methods. National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is funding the development of the program, as well as an agreement from Biological Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
About Indivior
A global pharmaceutical company, Indivior, is working to support patients in changing their lives by developing medicines that help in coming out of addiction and severe mental illnesses. The company aims to provide access to evidence-based treatment to all patients globally for chronic conditions and co-occurring disorders of substance use disorder (SUD). It is committed to transforming substance use disorder from a worldwide human crisis to a recognized and treated chronic illness. In addition, it has a pipeline of product candidates designed to build on its global portfolio of OUD treatments and potentially address other chronic conditions and co-occurring disorders of SUD, such as alcohol use disorder and cannabis use disorder.
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PHARMA TECH
Globenewswire | June 01, 2023
The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson today announced the submission of a Type II variation application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) seeking approval of a new indication for CARVYKTI® (ciltacabtagene autoleucel; cilta-cel) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed and lenalidomide-refractory multiple myeloma.
“The previous European Commission approval recognised the potential for cilta-cel to positively impact outcomes for people living with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma,” said Edmond Chan, MBChB M.D. (Res), Senior Director, EMEA Therapeutic Area Lead Haematology, Janssen-Cilag Limited. “Today’s submission to the EMA is an important step towards helping patients benefit from this CAR-T therapy earlier in their treatment journey. If approved, this will be the first and only CAR-T therapy available to treat relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients as early as second line.”
The application is supported by data from the CARTITUDE-4 study the first randomised Phase 3 study evaluating the efficacy and safety profile of cilta-cel versus pomalidomide, bortezomib and dexamethasone (PVd) or daratumumab, pomalidomide and dexamethasone (DPd) in the treatment of patients with relapsed and lenalidomide-refractory multiple myeloma who received one to three prior lines of therapy.1
The CARTITUDE-4 study results will be presented in a special session at the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL on Monday 5 June 2023 at 16:45 CEST.
“This submission is a testament to our relentless commitment to advance science, transform outcomes, challenge what a multiple myeloma diagnosis means for patients and ultimately, work towards our goal of one day curing this complex disease,” said Sen Zhuang, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President, Clinical Research and Development, Janssen Research & Development, LLC. “We look forward to collaborating with the EMA to bring this potential new indication for cilta-cel to the multiple myeloma community as soon as possible.”
About Ciltacabtagene Autoleucel (cilta-cel)
Cilta-cel received conditional marketing authorisation from the European Commission in May 2022, for the treatment of adults with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior therapies, including an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor and an anti-CD38 antibody, and have demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy.3,4 In February 2022, the FDA approved cilta-cel for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma after four or more prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor, an immunomodulatory agent, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody.5
Cilta-cel is a B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed, genetically modified autologous T-cell immunotherapy, which involves reprogramming a patient’s own T-cells with a transgene encoding a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that identifies and eliminates cells that express BCMA.6 BCMA is primarily expressed on the surface of malignant multiple myeloma B-lineage cells, as well as late-stage B-cells and plasma cells.7,8 The cilta-cel CAR protein features two BCMA-targeting single domain antibodies designed to confer high avidity against human BCMA.6 The CAR-modified T-cells express fusion proteins of antigen receptors against tumour-associated surface antigens and T-cell activation domains, and upon binding to BCMA-expressing cells redirect the effector T-cells and enhance tumour-specific immunosurveillance.9
In December 2017, Janssen Biotech, Inc. (Janssen) entered into a worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Legend Biotech USA, Inc. to develop and commercialise cilta-cel.10
About Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma is an incurable blood cancer that affects a type of white blood cell called plasma cells, which are found in the bone marrow.11 In multiple myeloma, these malignant plasma cells change and grow out of control.8 In Europe, more than 50,900 people were diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2020, and more than 32,400 patients died.12 While some patients with multiple myeloma initially have no symptoms, others can have common signs and symptoms of the disease, which can include bone fracture or pain, low red blood cell counts, tiredness, high calcium levels, or kidney failure.13
About the Janssen Pharmaceutical
At Janssen, we're creating a future where disease is a thing of the past. We're the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, working tirelessly to make that future a reality for patients everywhere by fighting sickness with science, improving access with ingenuity, and healing hopelessness with heart. We focus on areas of medicine where we can make the biggest difference: Cardiovascular, Metabolism & Retina; Immunology; Infectious Diseases & Vaccines; Neuroscience; Oncology; and Pulmonary Hypertension.
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PHARMACY MARKET
businesswire | April 03, 2023
Xeris Biopharma Holdings, Inc. a growth-oriented biopharmaceutical company committed to improving patient lives by developing and commercializing innovative products across a range of therapeutic areas, today announced that it has entered into a platform research evaluation collaboration and option agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Xeris will use its proprietary drug-formulation platform, XeriJect™, to develop ultra-highly concentrated, ready-to-use, small volume subcutaneous injections of two undisclosed monoclonal antibodies developed by Regeneron. Xeris will receive an upfront payment and potential milestone payments for preclinical achievements. Regeneron has an option to commercially license the Xeris technology for such molecules and nominate additional molecules for reformulation and potential commercialization. Specific financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“We are excited to be working with Regeneron on a platform collaboration basis, which builds on our prior feasibility studies and reflects the significant progress and investment we have been making into the development of XeriJect™,” said Paul R. Edick, Chairman and CEO of Xeris Biopharma. “Through our novel drug-formulation platform, we aim to provide our biologic development collaborators with the competitive advantage of delivering a significantly improved patient and provider experience through stable, ready-to-use, ultra-highly concentrated, small-volume subcutaneous injection formulations. This agreement with Regeneron is another in a series of collaborations Xeris has recently undertaken with top pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.”
About XeriJect™
Xeris’ drug-delivery system, XeriJect, provides innovative, ready-to-use, viscoelastic pharmaceutical suspensions that have the potential to improve drug delivery, lower treatment burden and improve patients' lives across a broad range of therapeutic categories. XeriJect suspensions maximize drug loadings at >450mg/mL, enable small volume subcutaneous injections, do not settle on storage and are ready-to-use. The suspensions use FDA-approved excipients and leverage known manufacturing processes. XeriJect formulation technology is well suited for drugs and biologics including large molecules such as proteins, monoclonal antibodies, and vaccines. The technology is protected by an extensive patent estate, trade secrets and know-how, and it is available for licensing.
About Xeris
Xeris is a growth-oriented biopharmaceutical company committed to improving patients’ lives by developing and commercializing differentiated and innovative products across a range of therapies. Xeris has three commercially available products: Gvoke®, a ready-to-use liquid glucagon for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia; Keveyis®, a proven therapy for primary periodic paralysis; and Recorlev® for the treatment of endogenous Cushing’s syndrome. Xeris has a diverse pipeline of development and partnered programs using its formulation sciences, XeriSol™ and XeriJect™, to support long-term product development and commercial success.
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