C4X Discovery Holdings PLC (AIM:C4XD) said it is selling its Orexin-1 receptor antagonist programme to Indivior PLC (LSE:INDV) for £15.95mln.
Investors were told the strategic divestment allows C4X Discovery to recognise immediate revenue and aligns with its focus on immuno-inflammatory therapeutics.
Included in the deal are all rights related to the development and use of the oral Orexin-1 receptor antagonist, C4X_3256 (INDV-2000), targeted at substance use disorder.
Indivior had previously received a US$10.6mln grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the development of this compound.
Proceeds from the sale will be used by C4X Discovery to accelerate the progress of its immuno-inflammatory portfolio, including its leading α4β7 integrin inhibitor programme, aimed at expanding treatments for inflammatory bowel disease.
It plans to advance the α4β7 programme towards the clinic and move two more immuno-inflammatory programmes into Lead Optimisation.
This deal marks a significant step in C4X Discovery's evolution towards becoming a specialized immuno-inflammatory therapeutics company, as it reallocates resources from its previous agreement with Indivior, which could have led to potential milestone payments of up to US$284mln, investors were told.
"Indivior has made excellent progress with our Orexin-1 candidate, and we are proud that they now wish to take this programme fully in-house. Their decision highlights the confidence they have in the programme and further underlines the power of our drug discovery expertise to produce valuable, commercially relevant, small-molecule drug candidates," said C4XD's chief business officer, Bhavna Hunjan.
"The agreement also provides an opportunity for us to crystallise value for the programme early and underpins and accelerates our new strategy.
"This non-dilutive funding, alongside potential preclinical milestone payments from our licensing deals for C4XD immuno-inflammatory assets with Sanofi and AstraZeneca, will allow us to further advance our newly focused portfolio towards and into the clinic."