In addition to a $140 million series D, GRIN Therapeutics has signed a global licensing deal for the epilepsy disorder drug radiprodil worth $50 million upfront.
GRIN Therapeutics has two big reasons to smile today. A biotech developing therapies for rare epilepsies, GRIN has signed a duo of deals with Italy’s Angelini Pharma, raising $140 million in a series D plus more through a licensing deal that could be worth up to $570 million.
Angelini has gained outside–North America rights to radiprodil, which is under development for GRIN-related neurodevelopmental disorder (GRIN-NDD). The aptly named biotech also closed the series D, which includes a $65 million strategic equity investment from Angelini plus $75 million from existing investor Blackstone Life Sciences, according to a Tuesday press release.
The licensing deal includes $50 million upfront plus up to $520 million in milestones and royalties for development of radiprodil outside of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Angelini will take radiprodil worldwide, with GRIN receiving royalties on sales.
Altogether, the two deals mean $115 million from Angelini in the near term, according to the release.
Radiprodil is a negative allosteric modulator of the GluN2B subunit of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, which is responsible for synaptic transmission, cognition and seizures. GRIN-NDDs are a group of genetic disorders caused by a change in one of the GRIN genes, which contain the code to create NMDA receptors. Symptoms of the disorders include developmental delay, seizures, autism, intellectual disability and more.
Funding from Angelini will help fuel a Phase III pivotal trial for radiprodil, which GRIN expects to begin in the third quarter of the year. The drug is also being tested in a Phase Ib/IIa study for patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) and focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) type II. The drug has been granted multiple FDA and European designations to advance its development, including breakthrough, orphan drug and rare pediatric disease.
