Genentech Inc. is paying Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd. $100 million in up-front and near-term payments for the development and commercialization rights to vixarelimab, a fully human monoclonal antibody. Kiniksa also could receive up to approximately $600 million in certain clinical, regulatory and sales-based milestones, as well as royalties on annual net sales.
Huadong Medicine Co. Ltd.’s wholly owned subsidiary Hangzhou Zhongmei Huadong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has acquired Asia-Pacific rights to two drugs from Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in a deal worth up to $662 million. “This collaboration aims to bring Kiniksa’s therapeutics to patients in the Asia Pacific Region suffering from severe autoimmune and inflammatory diseases,” said Sanj Patel, chairman and CEO of Kiniksa. “The collaboration also provides nondilutive capital, cost-sharing, and resources for clinical trials to accelerate our drug development and commercialization efforts.”
Huadong Medicine Co. Ltd.’s wholly owned subsidiary Hangzhou Zhongmei Huadong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has acquired Asia-Pacific rights to two drugs from Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in a deal worth up to $662 million. “This collaboration aims to bring Kiniksa’s therapeutics to patients in the Asia Pacific Region suffering from severe autoimmune and inflammatory diseases,” said Sanj Patel, chairman and CEO of Kiniksa. “The collaboration also provides nondilutive capital, cost-sharing, and resources for clinical trials to accelerate our drug development and commercialization efforts.”
Barely five and a half years since the company was founded, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has moved its first drug over the finish line, winning FDA approval for interleukin-1 blocker (IL-1) rilonacept to treat recurrent pericarditis and reduce the risk of recurrence in adults and children 12 and older.
New data from a global phase II trial of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd.'s monoclonal antibody, mavrilimumab, in the rare chronic inflammatory disease giant cell arteritis showed a 62% lower risk of flare in patients receiving the candidate vs. those given a placebo.
Shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd. hit a 52-week high on June 29 as pivotal phase III results showed that Arcalyst (rilonacept), a medicine it licensed from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., led to a 96% reduction in risk of recurrent pericarditis events among 61 people not helped by standard-of-care treatments.