ReNeuron Group PLC (LON:RENE) has inked a deal worth up to US$5mln ahead of potentially licensing out its ground-breaking retinal stem cell technology and therapeutic programmes. It has signed an exclusivity agreement with an unnamed US-based speciality pharmaceutical company, which it hopes will lead to a definitive accord later this year.
WATCH: ReNeuron CFO on the exclusivity agreement
The financial nuts and bolts are as follows: ReNeuron will receive a non-refundable US$2.5mln payment for granting a three-month period of exclusivity and will get the same again following the completion of "certain due diligence activities" during that time. The definitive pact is expected to grant the American firm worldwide licensing rights to the ReNeuron advance, though the deal would exclude China. In return, the UK group, which is also working on a cell-based therapy for stroke victims, would receive success-based milestone payments on top of what has already been pledged.
Active discussions taking place on other programmes
ReNeuron said its putative partner has the financial capacity as well as the clinical and commercial nous to "accelerate and maximise the value of the company's hRPC technology". Chief executive Olav Hellebø said the group had been "actively engaged in discussions with various parties" before signing the three-month exclusivity. And he added that ReNeuron was in detailed discussions with a number of companies in connection with its other programmes. "It is highly encouraging that our technologies and therapeutic programmes are attracting increasing interest from commercial third parties, reflecting the positive progress these programmes are making through pre-clinical and clinical development and their potential to address major unmet medical needs," he went on.
Two platforms
The company has two distinct platforms. Its CTX cell lines are being developed for serious conditions such as stroke, while its human retinal progenitor cells (hRPC) have been deployed in Phase I/IIa trials for people with a blindness-causing condition called retinitis pigmentosa.
The shares jumped 22% on the back of Wednesday’s announcement, pushing the stock to just shy of £1.