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Novartis in up to $2.9 billion licensing deal for PTC Therapeutics Huntington's disease drug
By Mariam Sunny - 12/2/2024
By Mariam Sunny
(Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis will pay up to $2.9 billion for PTC Therapeutics' promising experimental drug for a neurological disorder called Huntington's disease, sending the U.S.-based biotech's shares up about 14% on Monday.
The drug, code-named "PTC518," is being tested in a mid-stage study for the rare disorder that affects about 30,000 people in the U.S.
Earlier this year, interim 12-month data from a mid-stage study showed that a 10 milligram dose achieved as much as 43% dose-dependent reductions of the mutated Huntingtin protein, which causes disease progression and impairs a person's ability to think, feel, and move.
"PTC518 has long attracted the interest of the pharma community given its best-in-class profile," CEO Matthew Klein said on a call with analysts. Klein said the deal was signed after "a highly competitive process with several parties involved."
Novartis will take over the development, manufacturing, and sales of the oral drug after the completion of the ongoing portion of the mid-stage study, PTC said.
Currently available treatments, including Neurocrine Biosciences' Ingrezza and Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical's Austedo, only treat the symptoms associated with the disease but cannot stop or reverse it.
Novartis had stopped the development of its Huntington's disease drug last year after concerns around potential nerve damage in patients.
Novartis, which has been chasing deals to boost its pipeline to mitigate the impact of losing exclusivity on key medications such as its top-selling heart failure drug Entresto, will pay $1 billion upfront and the rest is linked to milestones.
PTC and Novartis will share the U.S. profits and losses for the drug on a 40-60 basis, respectively. PTC is also eligible to receive tiered double-digit royalties on the drug's sales outside the country.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)