Travere Therapeutics will gain an exclusive license to the oral BTK inhibitor civorebrutinib, which analysts at Guggenheim Securities said could be “complementary” to the biotech’s IgA nephropathy drug Filspari.
Travere Therapeutics is fronting $112.5 million to strike a deal with Everest Medicines, securing an exclusive global license to the Shanghai-based biotech’s drug candidate for rare kidney diseases.
Much of the agreement’s value is backloaded, with Travere pledging up to $1.03 billion in clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones across five indications, according to a Tuesday release.
The centerpiece of the collaboration is civorebrutinib, an orally available and reversible BTK inhibitor that the partners plan to test for rare and immune-mediated kidney diseases. Among their target indications are primary membranous nephropathy, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and minimal change.
“We view this deal as a capital-efficient way to add long-term optionality to the company’s rare kidney disease portfolio,” Guggenheim Securities told investors in a note on Tuesday. In particular, civorebrutinib’s mechanism of suppressing the proliferation and activity of disease-causing immune cells could “prove complementary” to the “nephroprotective” approach of Filspari, Travere’s FDA-approved therapy for IgA nephropathy, the analysts explained.
Unlike civorebrutinib, Filspari addresses kidney diseases by targeting and inhibiting the endothelin and angiotensin II receptors, in turn reducing proteinuria and kidney inflammation. Filspari also minimizes kidney fibrosis and glomerular damage.
The drug was first cleared in February 2023 for IgA nephropathy under the FDA’s accelerated pathway before being converted to full approval in September 2024. Filspari is also indicated for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, for which the drug in April became the first medicine to win the FDA’s full approval. The product earned $322 million last year.
“Management frames civorebrutinib and Filspari as two distinct medicines with complementary profiles, with civorebrutinib adding an immune-mediated mechanism alongside Filspari’s nephroprotective role,” Guggenheim wrote on Thursday after talking to Travere leadership about the Everest deal.
The biotech said that “it is early for formal combination work” between Filspari and civorebrutinib, Guggenheim continued, “but sees a mechanistic rationale for pursuing the two mechanisms together over time.”
Under the terms of Tuesday’s licensing deal, Travere will have an exclusive license over civorebrutinib in all global markets outside of China and certain countries in East and Southeast Asia, though the companies did not specify what these territories are. Everest will be entitled to high-single-digit to double-digit percentages in tiered royalties on net future sales in Travere’s license markets.
