Janssen bets on stem cells
pharmafile | January 7, 2014 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | CDC, Janssen, Stem cells, cap, capricor
US biotech Capricor Therapeutics is being backed by Janssen Biotech to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars to use stem cell technology to produce new treatments for patients with lung and heart problems.
The Johnson & Johnson firm is paying Los Angeles-based Capricor $12.5 million upfront for a collaboration and licence agreement to develop its cardiovascular cell therapy programme – but this figure could inflate to over $300 million if all goes well.
The lead product in the package is CAP-1002, an allogeneic cardiosphere-derived cell (CDC) therapeutic which is being looked at in patients who have suffered a large myocardial infarction.
While stem cell technology is commercially unproven, its possibilities are attractive to pharma companies seeking to access new areas with potentially high revenue streams.
Last month Celgene signed a $177 million deal with OncoMed to gain access to its pipeline to develop and commercialise six anti-cancer stem cell (CSC) therapies.
Janssen’s cash gives it the option to pick up exclusive rights to CAP-1002 for up to 60 days after Capricor has published the six-month follow-up results from Phase II of the ALLSTAR trial for CAP-1002, which should be completed in 2016.
Capricor – whose shares only began being publicly traded last month – could then be eligible for up to $325 million in additional payments, plus royalties on sales of the CDC treatment.
Capricor chief executive Linda Marbán said the agreement was an “important validation of…CAP-1002, and the underlying science”. The product is derived from donor heart tissue, whose cells are then infused into a coronary artery of the patient.
Capricor was formed through the merger in November between private stem cell firm Capricor Inc and Nile Therapeutics, a biopharma company specialising in cardiovascular diseases.
Its other main product is Cenderitide, a natriuretic peptide designed to treat heart failure.
Adam Hill
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