Exicure Inc (XCUR)

[MadeBucksOnThis]

Purdue and Exicure partner on psoriasis in deal worth up to $790 million

Privately-held US firms Purdue Pharma and Exicure have announced a new research collaboration and license agreement aimed at discovering and developing a treatment for psoriasis in a deal that could eventually be worth up to $790 million plus royalties on successful products.

The agreement will also target treatments for other diseases that could be treated with a gene regulation approach using Exicure’s Spherical Nucleic Acid (SNA) technology.

This deal sees Purdue gain full worldwide development and commercial rights to the topical plaque psoriasis drug AST-005, and also rights to three additional collaboration targets. Data from a recently-completed Phase I trial of AST-005 showed the drug to be safe and tolerable in 15 patients.

But perhaps the key factor in the deal is Purdue’s access to biotech Exicure’s SNA platform. The technology, which uses nanoscale, spherical arrangements of densely packed and radially oriented nucleic acids, is promising in that the architecture overcomes a significant existing obstacle to nucleic acid based therapeutics: safe and effective delivery into cells and tissues of therapeutic importance without the need for additional physical or chemical methods or components.

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While existing treatments for psoriasis include biologics, orally-administered drugs and various non-targeted topical treatments, SNA’s abilities allow AST-005 to penetrate the skin when applied topically and target the correct TNF gene, without having to travel through the blood as with AbbVie’s (NYSE: ABBV) best-selling Humira (adalimumab), which is delivered by injection.

The move can be read as part of Purdue’s strategy to minimize its reliance on the opioid-based drugs that make up the majority of its portfolio, at a time when abuse of opioid medication is under the spotlight in the USA in particular.

Mark Timney, Purdue’s president and chief executive since 2014, has himself noted that the company is “standing on one leg and we need to put down a few more legs to diversify.”

Mr Timney intends to continue broadening its reach, and says he is targeting “two, three, four deals per year for the next several years" for Purdue. The most recent agreement saw the company sign a collaboration with AnaBios to develop new non-opioid chronic pain treatments.

'Strategic expansion of Purdue's pipeline'
Exicure is based in Skokie, Illinois, and is backed by such high-profile investors as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, David Walt, co-founder of Illumina, and Boon Hwee Koh, director of Agilent Technologies and former chairman of Singapore Airlines.

Mr Timney said: “This long-term strategic collaboration agreement represents a significant expansion of Purdue’s pipeline, and provides us with the potential to further our mission of developing novel therapies for patients with chronic conditions.

"We look forward to combining Exicure’s SNA technology and deep expertise in this field with Purdue’s resources and expertise in clinical studies, regulatory affairs and commercialization for the benefit of patients.

“Given the broad potential of SNA technology, we want to forge long-term strategic relationships with best-in- class companies,” added David Giljohann, chief executive of Exicure. “As we were looking for a global leader with a proven track record in the development and global commercialization of treatments for patients with chronic conditions, we were very impressed with the Purdue Pharma’s clinical and commercial capabilities.”

https://www.thepharmaletter.com/article/purdue-and-exicure-partner-on-psoriasis-treatment