Entera Bio signs $270m Amgen licensing deal

Biotech development, photo: Shutterstock
Biotech development, photo: Shutterstock

Entera will use its proprietary drug delivery platform to develop oral formulations for one preclinical large molecule program in inflammatory diseases and other serious illnesses that Amgen has selected.

Israeli clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Entera Bio Ltd. (Nasdaq: ENTX) announced today that it has entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with Amgen in inflammatory disease and other serious illnesses. The agreement could be worth up to $270 million in milestone payments and royalties. Amgen will be responsible for clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization of any of the resulting programs.

Entera will use its proprietary drug delivery platform to develop oral formulations for one preclinical large molecule program that Amgen has selected. Amgen also has an option to select up to two additional programs to include in the collaboration.

Entera CEO Dr. Phillip Schwartz said, “We are excited to leverage our proprietary oral drug delivery platform in collaboration with Amgen, a leader in the development of large molecule and biologic treatments in inflammatory disease and numerous other disorders. This collaboration is an important validation of our platform technology. Importantly, the first program included in this agreement is very different from the Oral PTH (1-34) in Entera’s pipeline, highlighting the broad applicability of our technology.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Entera will receive a modest initial technology access fee from Amgen and will be responsible for preclinical development at Amgen’s expense. Entera will retain all IP rights to its drug delivery technology, which under this collaboration will be licensed to Amgen exclusively for Amgen’s nominated drug targets. Amgen will retain all rights to its large molecules and any subsequent improvements.

Entera Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of orally delivered large molecule therapeutics for use in orphan indications and other areas with significant unmet medical needs. The company is initially applying its technology to develop an oral formulation of a human parathyroid hormone analog, Oral PTH (1-34), for treatment of hypoparathyroidism and osteoporosis.

Entera's proprietary platform technology, consists of two components: a small molecule that enhances the absorption of a large molecule therapeutic agents and a second component that “protects” the large molecule from digestion in the gastrointestinal tract. This synergistic system is intended to increase oral bioavailability and decrease the variability associated with the oral administration of large molecule biologics and synthetic protein therapeutic agents.

In the deal, Entera Bio was represented by Advs. Yair Geva and Dan Sharot of Herzog Fox & Neeman Law Office.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 11, 2018

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018

Biotech development, photo: Shutterstock
Biotech development, photo: Shutterstock
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