BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Ionis gets $75M milestone in Bayer anticoagulant deal

February 14, 2017 10:50 PM UTC

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:IONS) is to receive a $75 million milestone payment from Bayer AG (Xetra:BAYN) tied to milestones in the development of Factor XI antisense inhibitors IONIS-FXIRx (BAY 2306001) and IONIS-FXI-LRx. The partners share rights to IONIS-FXIRx under a 2015 deal, and said Tuesday they have added preclinical candidate IONIS-FXI-LRx to the agreement (see BioCentury Extra, May 4, 2015).

Ionis intends to start a Phase IIb trial next half of IONIS-FXIRx in about 200 patients on hemodialysis with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and plans to develop IONIS-FXI-LRx through a Phase I trial, slated to begin in early 2018. Bayer may then opt to advance either program. If it does, Bayer would be responsible for subsequent development and commercialization, and Ionis would be eligible for milestones plus tiered royalties...

BCIQ Target Profiles

Factor XI