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Ionis, Novartis deal

January 13, 2017 7:54 PM UTC

Ionis and its Akcea Therapeutics Inc. subsidiary granted Novartis exclusive, worldwide options to develop and commercialize AKCEA-APO(a)-LRx (IONIS-APO(a)-LRx) and AKCEA-APOCIII-LRx (IONIS-APOCIII-LRx), which are antisense therapies for cardiovascular disorders. Ionis and Akcea will receive an upfront option payment of $75 million and a $100 million investment through the purchase of 1.6 million Ionis shares at $61.30. The price is a 30% premium to Ionis' close of $47.09 on Jan. 5, before the deal was announced. Within 18 months, Novartis is to invest another $50 million in Ionis or Akcea.

Ionis plans to conduct Phase II trials of both candidates. When they are completed, Novartis may exercise its options. If it does, Novartis will be responsible for further development and commercialization. Akcea will retain rights to co-commercialize the candidates via its sales force targeting lipid specialists. If Novartis opts in, Ionis would receive a $150 million license fee for each product and would be eligible for milestones totaling up to $600 million for AKCEA-APO(a)-LRx and $530 million for AKCEA-APOCIII-LRx, plus tiered royalties from the mid-teens to low twenties...