Prothena Announces Global Neuroscience Research & Development Collaboration with Celgene for Novel Therapies for Patients wit...
March 20 2018 - 3:05PM
- Prothena to receive a $100
million upfront payment and a $50 million equity investment by
Celgene, with potential license payments and regulatory and
commercial milestones, plus additional royalties on net sales from
licensed programs
- Collaboration focuses on
preclinical programs targeting proteins implicated in several
neurodegenerative diseases, including tau, TDP-43 and an
undisclosed third target
- Prothena to host an
investor conference call and webcast today at 5:00 PM
ET
DUBLIN, Ireland, March 20, 2018
(GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA), a
late-stage clinical biotechnology company focused on the discovery,
development and commercialization of novel therapies in the
neuroscience and orphan categories, today announced a global
collaboration with Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) through a
subsidiary, to develop new therapies for a broad range of
neurodegenerative diseases. The multi-year research and development
collaboration is focused on three proteins implicated in the
pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases, including tau,
TDP-43 and an undisclosed target. For each of the programs, Celgene
has an exclusive right to license clinical candidates in the U.S.
at the investigational new drug (IND) filing and if exercised,
would also have a right to expand the license to global rights at
the completion of Phase 1. Following the exercise of global
rights, Celgene will be responsible for funding all further
global clinical development and commercialization. Under the terms
of the collaboration, Prothena will receive a $100 million upfront
payment and a $50 million equity investment by Celgene, plus future
potential exercise payments and regulatory and commercial
milestones for each licensed program. Prothena will also receive
additional royalties on net sales of any resulting marketed
products.
"Prothena has a legacy of
innovation in neuroscience and a team with a deep understanding of
biological approaches that target protein misfolding disorders. Our
collaboration leverages each company's core expertise in protein
homeostasis and protein clearance to target proteins that are the
underlying cause of many neurodegenerative and orphan diseases. The
programs we have chosen to collaborate on have the potential to
provide foundational assets from which we can build new therapeutic
approaches to these currently untreatable neurological disorders"
said Richard Hargreaves, PhD, Corporate Vice President Neuroscience
and Imaging for Celgene.
"We are excited to be working with
Celgene, a leading global biopharmaceutical company with deep
expertise in targeting critical biological pathways involved
in protein homeostasis and an extensive track record of
successfully bringing forward innovative new therapies based on
this biology," said Gene Kinney, PhD, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Prothena. "As we build our pipeline of novel therapies
across the neuroscience and orphan disease categories, this
collaboration provides Prothena the opportunity to work with a
premier scientific partner and the resources and flexibility to
advance these programs while continuing to expand our proprietary
discovery activities and further supports our efforts to deliver a
diversified pipeline of therapies to alter the course of
devastating diseases."
Collaboration Agreement Overview
Prothena will receive an upfront payment and
equity investment, and is eligible to receive exercise payments and
regulatory and commercial milestones, plus additional royalties on
net sales based on the following collaboration deal terms:
- Prothena will receive an upfront payment of $100
million
- Celgene will make a $50 million equity investment
in Prothena by subscribing to approximately 1.2 million of
Prothena's ordinary shares at $42.57 per share
- For programs reaching commercialization, Prothena
will receive tiered royalties on net sales
The targets encompassed in this
collaboration are implicated in the pathogenesis of several
neurodegenerative diseases for which there are no current disease
modifying therapies, including the following:
- Tau, a
protein implicated in diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD),
progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), frontotemporal dementia
(FTD), chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and other
tauopathies. Prothena has identified antibodies targeting novel
epitopes on the tau protein with the ability to block misfolded tau
from binding to cells and to inhibit
cell-to-cell transmission, preventing downstream functional toxic
effects.
- TDP-43, a
protein implicated in diseases including amytrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS) and the most common subtype of FTD, behavioral
variant FTD (bvFTD), a proportion of AD and other TDP-43
proteinopathies. Prothena has generated antibodies that target
multiple epitopes on the TDP-43 protein and is using proprietary in
vitro screening methodology to select those that may be the most
potent and efficacious in inhibiting toxicity and cell-to-cell
transmission of misfolded TDP-43 species.
Citi is acting as financial advisor to Prothena
and Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as legal counsel to
Prothena. Morgan Lewis is acting as legal counsel to Celgene.
Investor
Conference Call and Webcast Details
Prothena management will host a
conference call and webcast to discuss the collaboration today,
March 20, at 5:00 PM ET. The conference call and webcast will be
made available on the Company's website
at www.prothena.com under the Investors tab in the Events
and Presentations section. Following the conference call and
webcast, a replay will be available on the Company's website for at
least 90 days.
To access the conference call via
dial-in, please dial (877) 887-5215 (U.S./Canada toll free) or
(315) 625-3069 (international) five minutes prior to the start time
and refer to conference ID number 8469456. A replay of the call
will be available until March 27 via dial-in at (855) 859-2056
(U.S./Canada toll free) or (404) 537-3406 (international),
Conference ID Number 8469456.
About Prothena
Prothena Corporation plc is a
global, late-stage clinical biotechnology company establishing
fully integrated research, development and commercial capabilities
and focused on advancing new therapies in the neuroscience and
orphan categories. Fueled by its deep scientific understanding
built over decades of research in protein misfolding, Prothena
seeks to fundamentally change the course of grave or currently
untreatable diseases associated with this biology. Prothena's
pipeline of antibody therapeutic candidates targets a number of
indications including AL amyloidosis (NEOD001), Parkinson's disease
and other related synucleinopathies (PRX002/RG7935) and ATTR
amyloidosis (PRX004). The Company continues discovery of additional
novel therapeutic approaches against targets such as tau, AB
(Amyloid beta) and ALECT2 where its deep scientific understanding
of disease pathology can be leveraged. For more information, please
visit the Company's website at www.prothena.com.
Forward-looking Statements by Prothena
This press
release contains forward-looking statements by Prothena. These
statements relate to, among other things, potential future payments
and royalties we might receive under the collaboration with
Celgene; our ability to advance a growing pipeline of novel
therapies in the neuroscience and orphan disease categories; our
ability to advance any of the programs that are the subject of the
collaboration with Celgene; the potential of those programs to lead
to new therapeutic approaches to currently untreatable neurological
disorders; the potential targeting of novel epitopes on
misfolded forms of tau protein and LECT2 protein; and the
capabilities of our proprietary in vitro screening methodology for
TDP-43. These statements are based on estimates, projections and
assumptions that may prove not to be accurate, and actual results
could differ materially from those anticipated due to known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including but not
limited to the risks, uncertainties and other factors described in
the "Risk Factors" sections of Prothena's Annual Report on Form
10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on
February 26, 2018 and Prothena's subsequent Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. Prothena undertakes no obligation to
update publicly any forward-looking statements contained in this
press release as a result of new information, future events or
changes in Prothena's expectations.
Contact:
Ellen Rose, Head of Communications
650-922-2405
ellen.rose@prothena.com
This
announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf
of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: Prothena Corporation plc via Globenewswire
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