UCB SA, Neuropore to Develop Parkinson's Treatment in $480 Million Deal
January 16, 2015
By Krystle Vermes, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
UCB and Neuropore Therapies Inc. announced today that they have entered a collaboration and agreement worth $480 million to develop therapeutics for Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. This will include work on NPT200-11, Neuropore’s small molecule that targets pathogenic alpha-synuclein.
Neuropore will receive an initial upfront payment of $20 million. It is also entitled to potential regulatory, development, and sales-based milestone payments of up to $460 million. This does not include royalties that may be acquired from net sales. As a result of the deal, UCB will have the exclusive license to develop and commercialize NPT200-11.
"Parkinson's disease is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder that results in disruption of normal movement and motor function, as well as cognitive and other life-altering symptoms," said Ismail Kola, president of UCB New Medicines. "People living with Parkinson's disease need better treatment options, especially as there is currently no approved treatment that addresses a fundamental pathological mechanism in Parkinson’s disease. With Neuropore’s NPT200-11, we have the opportunity to develop a disease modifying treatment option for patients with Parkinson’s disease and other synucleinopathies."
NPT200-11 is designed to block the pathological protein misfolding, aggregation and deposition that contribute to synaptic dysfunction and cell death in disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.
"We are excited to partner with UCB, a global leader in developing drugs to treat neurological diseases," said Dieter Meier, Neuropore’s CEO. "By working together we wish to accelerate the development of new treatments that can halt or slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases for patients who suffer from such debilitating conditions. UCB’s commitment and expertise in this field offers the best opportunity to collaboratively develop orally available small molecules to treat diseases that affect large patient populations and possibly certain orphan diseases.”
The Grant for NPT200-11
Under the Michael J. Fox Foundation partnering program, Neuropore Therapies has received a grant for further development of NPT200-11. The decision to reward the company with the grant came after the drug showed potential to slow the progressive neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease patients.
“This novel small molecule has been shown to reduce the accumulation of toxic oligomeric forms of alpha synuclein in lipid membranes and to reduce alpha synuclein accumulation in brains of animals over expressing the human form of this protein,” the foundation said in a statement. “The beneficial consequences of targeting alpha synuclein with NPT200-11 in these animals has been shown to include: reducing neuroinflammation, reducing neurodegeneration and improving motor function.”