US company eXithera Pharmaceuticals, which is developing a new type of anti-coagulant, has announced a licensing and investment agreement with Chinese company Sichuan Haisco Pharmaceuticals. The Chinese company is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange with an $8.1 billion market cap. eXithera is a portfolio company of Israeli company Clal Biotechnology Industries, controlled by Len Blavatnik's Access Industries. Following the announcement, Clal Biotechnology's shares rose 0.5%, pushing its market cap up to NIS 456 million.
Under the agreement, Sichuan Haisco will invest $6 million in eXithera as a company value of $42 million, before money. The deal will reduce Clal Biotechnology's stake in eXithera to 45%. Haisco will also receive an exclusive license to develop, manufacture, and market eXithera's drug in the IV sector in China. Haisco will be responsible for developing the product in China, and will finance development, trials, registration, and production in the country in return for royalties on any future sales.
Clal Biotechnology says that Haisco develops new drugs, and has proven its capability to develop, register, market, and sell medical products in China. The company's products are currently sold to 3,000 hospitals, generating $500 million in annual revenue.
In 2017, eXithera reported successful results in its Phase I (safety and initial effectiveness) trial on 60 patients. No side effects were found, and the aPIT measure showed lengthening of the coagulating process proportionate to an increase in the dosage.
Anti-coagulants are a preventative treatment for heart attacks and strokes, and are also used to treat existing blood clots. The markets involved are very large; a number of drugs in this field have annual sales of over $1 billion. Existing drugs can have potentially deadly side effects of bleeding. eXithera's idea is to delay coagulation, rather than stopping it completely. In its trial, the company showed that when the patient stops taking the drug, its effects also quickly stop. If potentially dangerous bleeding is discovered, the treatment can be stopped quickly, unlike the anti-coagulants currently in the market. It will necessary to verify these advantages in additional trials.
Clal Biotechnology's portfolio companies raised an aggregate total of $1.2 billion over the past year, among other things through Nasdaq offerings, where cancer companies Achiano Therapeutics, Gamida Cell, and Neon Therapeutics raised $56 million, $53 million, and $100 million, respectively.
Psychiatric drug company Cadent Therapeutics raised $65 million in a private placement, burns treatment company MediWound expanded its cooperation agreement with the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is responsible for medical procurement for emergencies, by $43 million, and cancer treatment company Elicio raised $26 million.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on April 1, 2019
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