Ireland-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals has forged a definitive agreement with Redx Pharma to acquire the latter’s KRAS (Kirsten rat sarcoma virus) inhibitor programme.
Redx’s KRAS inhibitor programme includes G12D selective and pan-KRAS molecules. KRAS inhibitors offer a treatment option for colorectal, pancreatic and lung cancer patients who currently have limited treatment options.
Under the terms of the deal, Jazz will secure all rights, patents, titles, and interests in exchange for an upfront payment of $10m.
Redx is also eligible to receive up to $870m in research, regulatory, and commercial milestones.
The next milestone is the investigational new drug application (IND) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Additionally, Redx is qualified for mid-single digit, tiered royalties based on any future net sales.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals research and development EVP, global head Robert Iannone said: “KRAS is a well-validated oncology target and there remains a high unmet need for innovation in this area based on challenges in developing molecules to target specific KRAS mutations.
“Redx has discovered a number of preclinical KRAS candidates and we plan to leverage our collective oncology development expertise to identify and advance the most promising molecules toward the clinic.”
Under a second, parallelly signed collaboration agreement, Redx will be paid by Jazz to conduct preclinical development and research efforts aimed at finishing IND-enabling studies for both KRAS profiles.
The acquisition of this preclinical programme is expected to expand the targeted oncology therapies pipeline of the Irish biopharmaceutical firm.
Redx CEO Lisa Anson said: “This agreement will allow us to collaborate on the advancement of novel KRAS inhibitors and we look forward to supporting Jazz in progressing these candidates through IND-enabling studies.
“Partnerships remain a key pillar of our corporate strategy, allowing us to advance what we believe are differentiated molecules in areas of high unmet need, while also creating long-term shareholder value through non-dilutive funding, with the upfront milestone payment from this agreement extending our current cash runway into 2025.”
