Theravance ($THRX) has found a partner to bolster development of an experimental compound against gastrointestinal disorders. Italian drugmaker Alfa Wassermann and the South San Francisco biotech have laid out a mid-stage development program to advance the compound, velusetrag or TD-5108, to treat patients with gastroparesis.
Alfa Wassermann and Theravance plan to join forces on the two-part Phase II program to test the safety and efficacy of the oral compound in patients with the condition--which hampers gastric emptying--with the Italian pharma group footing the bill. If Alfa Wassermann likes what it sees, the company has the option to pay $10 million to Theravance for the right to commercialize velusetrag in key markets such as the European Union, China and Mexico. Theravance said in its release Tuesday that it also stands to gain up to $53 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestone fees from its partner, as well as potential royalties in the low teens to 20%.
Theravance, which has proof-of-concept data on the drug from a study of patients with constipation, is holding on to rights to the therapy in the U.S., Canada, Japan other countries. The deal comes as the Bay Area developer advances in a broad collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) on several candidates for respiratory conditions such as smoker's cough or COPD. GSK and Theravance recently gained acceptance of their applications for approval of the inhaled lung treatment Breo or Relvar in the U.S. and Europe.
"Gastroparesis represents one of the most significant unmet medical needs in gastroenterology and we look forward to moving quickly with Alfa Wassermann to bring this potential medicine to patients who have limited alternatives today," stated Theravance CEO Rick Winningham.
- here's the release
- see an article from the AP