Onxeo to Receive $6.6 Million by Granting Additional Exclusive Rights to Belinostat to Acrotech Biopharma LLC
- This transaction completes Onxeo’s strategic transition to a company solely focused on DNA Damage Response (DDR) activities in oncology
- $6.6m received from Acrotech extends Onxeo’s cash runway into Q2 2021 and supports Company’s DDR-related programs
Paris (France), April 6, 2020 – 6:00 pm CEST – Onxeo S.A. (Euronext Paris, NASDAQ Copenhagen: ONXEO), (“Onxeo” or “the Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in the development of innovative drugs targeting tumor DNA Damage Response (DDR), in particular against rare or resistant cancers, today announced that it has entered into agreements (“the Agreements”) with Acrotech Biopharma LLC, (“Acrotech”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aurobindo Pharma, which extend Acrotech’s rights to belinostat, to all territories not previously covered under Onxeo’s prior agreement with Acrotech as well as transfer certain IP and know-how related to belinostat in all its forms. Onxeo will receive a one-time payment of $6.6 million from Acrotech in exchange for these rights. Belinostat is currently marketed in the U.S. under the name Beleodaq® (belinostat for injection) in the second-line treatment of patients with peripheral T cell lymphoma.
Judith Greciet, Chief Executive Officer at Onxeo, said: “We are very pleased to have concluded this transaction with Acrotech, a highly professional team that is well-positioned to realize the potential of this interesting product in terms of patient access in new territories.
On our end, this transaction completes our strategic transition to a company solely focused on DDR-related drug development while extending our cash runway into the second quarter of 2021, beyond the key catalysts expected in 2020 on our two leading programs, AsiDNA™ and OX401.”
In March 2019, Acrotech acquired from Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (SPPI) the license to belinostat for certain territories, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, and India.
The new Agreement grants Acrotech a royalty-free license to belinostat in all other territories. As part of this transaction, Onxeo’s current licensing agreement with Pint Pharma for South America, as well as the contracts with Clinigen plc and iQone for named patient programs in European countries and related agreements, have also been assigned to Acrotech.
Financial effect of the transaction
This Agreement has no impact on Onxeo’s existing royalty monetization agreement with SWK Holdings, which was entered into in June 2018, and only pertains to future royalties and milestones on the sales of Beleodaq® in the territories initially licensed to SPPI. These royalties and milestones will continue to be recorded as revenues in the consolidated accounts and to be allocated to the reimbursement of the bonds owned by SWK Holdings. Any royalties or milestones payable after the reimbursement of the bonds has been forgiven.
€0.9 million from the $6.6 million proceeds of the Agreement will be used to pay amounts due under the Settlement entered into with SpePharm as per the terms of the Settlement Agreement disclosed on February 11, 2020. The remaining funds will be used for the Company’s DDR-related drug development program and extend Onxeo’s financial visibility into Q2 2021.
As a result of the transaction, Onxeo will record an impairment charge of approximately €13 million in its 2019 consolidated accounts, corresponding to the variation of the fair value of intangible R&D assets pertaining to belinostat as per IFRS standards.
Further financial information will be provided with the Company’s 2019 full-year results on April 17, 2020.