CSL buys in to 'long term' haemophilia treatment in $655m deal
Blood plasma giant CSL has bought the global licence to a gene therapy treatment it hopes will bring lifelong help to haemophilia B patients in a deal with NASDAQ-listed biotech uniQure worth at least $US450 million ($655 million).
The $132 billion Australian company told the ASX on Thursday morning that it had bought the global rights to commercialise uniQure's AMT-061 candidate. AMT-061 has been shown to increase levels of Factor-IX, the blood clotting protein that haemophilia patients lack, to a point where their symptoms are reduced for years.
CSL CEO Paul Perreault said the company was focusing on freeing patients from the 'lifelong burden' of haemophilia. Credit:Eamon Gallagher
CSL already has a portfolio of treatments for haemophilia A and B. Chief executive Paul Perrault said commercialising a treatment like AMT-061 has the potential to free people from the need for frequent treatments across their lifetimes.
"Our vision with haemophilia B patients is to offer transformational treatment paradigms which help free them from the lifelong burden of this disease," he said.
The treatment is still in phase 3 clinical trials and the purchase would give CSL the rights to commericalise it once ready. UniQure, which is based in the Netherlands, would complete the phase 3 trial and scale up manufacturing before CSL takes over.
The deal would see uniQure receive $US450 million ($655 million) in an upfront cash payment. According to its update to shareholders in the US, it would also be eligible for up to $1.6 billion in milestone payments depending on progress of the treatment.
CSL has been unveiling a wide range of research and development projects over the past month. In the first week of June it confirmed to investors that it will produce the University of Queensland's COVID-19 vaccine if it is successful in development.
Two weeks ago, it acquired Canadian research company Vitaeris to work on developing its treatments for preventing patients from rejecting donor kidneys.
The uniQure deal is subject to regulatory clearances before completion. CSL shares have been up 2.8 per cent over the past week and were sitting at $292.36 before Thursday's market open.