Edison, Dainippon add discovery deal
Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4506) will pay Edison Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.) $10 million up front and provide $40 million in R&D support in exchange for exclusive rights in Japan and North America to develop and commercialize three compounds for adult CNS disorders. The partners will jointly discover the compounds against targets involved in the redox network, which controls energy metabolism. Edison will retain rights to the three compounds outside of Japan and North America and will retain worldwide rights to up to seven other jointly discovered compounds, which Dainippon will fund through IND filing. Dainippon also will purchase $50 million in preferred Edison stock and another $50 million at Edison's request.
Additionally, Dainippon gained rights to develop and commercialize Edison's EPI-589 in North America. Dainippon already has Japanese rights to develop and commercialize EPI-589, along with EPI-743, under a March 2013 deal (see BioCentury Extra, March 28, 2013). ...