Transition Therapeutics buys into Lilly bone drug
pharmafile | July 24, 2013 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Transition, bone, lilly
Transition Therapeutics has bought Lilly’s early-stage osteoarthritis drug TT-601 that is designed to help patients with chronic bone pain.
Transition will obtain exclusive licensing of worldwide rights to the small molecule transcriptional regulator, which has just completed pre-clinical development. The Canada-based firm said it sees clinical trials beginning in the first half of 2014.
Under the terms of the agreement, Transition has acquired the rights to develop and potentially commercialise TT-601. Lilly, however, retains an option to reacquire all rights to TT-601 depending on how well it performs in human studies.
And if Lilly takes this option Transition would receive milestone payments of around $130 million, including a high single-digit royalty on sales of the drug if it is approved.
If it doesn’t take this route, Lilly would still be eligible for a low single-digit royalty from Transition on sales of products containing TT-601, again if it gets onto the market.
By modulating the activity of the transcriptional regulator in patients with osteoarthritis, Transition say this may provide pain relief to “a large segment of osteoarthritis patients” who do not have adequate response to therapy with NSAIDs.
Dr Tony Cruz, chairman and chief executive of Transition, said: “We are very pleased with the opportunity to continue our relationship with Lilly through the in-licensing of TT-601. Molecules in this novel class have shown target engagement in the joint space and efficacy in multiple animal models of joint pain.
“We look forward to TT-601 clinical studies as this drug candidate has the potential to provide an important new source of pain relief to the more than 27 million Americans suffering from OA.”
Transition’s lead drug is the central nervous system candidate ELND005 for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and bipolar disorder. It was granted a fast-track status by the FDA just last week.
The firm is also developing TT-401 for the treatment of type II diabetes and accompanying obesity.
Ben Adams
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