C4X Discovery Holdings PLC (LON:C4XD) inked a worldwide licensing deal with international drugs giant Sanofi worth up to €414mln for its oral IL-17A inhibitor programme.
The group will receive €7mln upfront, plus €11mln in pre-clinical payments.
A further €407mln will come in potential development, regulatory and commercialisation ‘milestones’, while C4XD would receive single-digit royalty on sales of any finished product.
At the moment both the UK company and its partner are a long way from commercial launch.
However, they are working on a hugely promising potential treatment for inflammatory diseases, tapping into a “multi-billion-dollar market”.
Currently, IL-17 monoclonal antibodies are administered by injection. Having an oral version represents a significant breakthrough.
“While antibody therapies have demonstrated the potential of IL-17 inhibition in the generation of highly effective treatments, the injectable route means many patients currently do not have access to the medicines that can change their lives,” said chief executive Clive Dix
“We believe that our small molecule programme has the potential to create high value, efficacious and convenient oral IL-17 therapeutics for this large market.”
The tie-up with Sanofi is the company’s second major licensing deal.
Indivior is currently taking a C4XD molecule through a phase I clinical trial assessing its potential to treat non-opioid addiction as part of a collaboration worth around €260mln.