Actimed Therapeutics has brought the full rights to its wasting disease drug back in-house, securing “strategic control” over the asset but losing out on a shot at over $120 million in biobucks.
The U.K.-based biotech sold part of the rights for S-oxprenolol—an anabolic-catabolic transforming agent (ACTA)—to Seattle’s Faraday Pharmaceuticals for $550,000 upfront back in 2021. That deal came with the potential for $126.2 million in milestone payments, and gave Faraday the opportunity to develop S-oxprenolol for cancer cachexia and any other indications outside of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Since then, Actimed has pointed to preclinical data suggesting that S-oxprenolol could have “significant beneficial effects on survival, body mass and functional parameters” in patients with ALS.
On Thursday, Actimed said it has negotiated a return of all of the S-oxprenolol rights from Faraday, following which Actimed will hold full development, manufacturing and commercialization rights worldwide. This transition “will allow Actimed to have full strategic control over S-oxprenolol and maximize the value of this asset across all potential indications in the future,” the London-based biotech explained.
“We believe S-oxprenolol could have a potential role to play in treating muscle wasting and cachexia associated with ALS, which remains our prime focus with this asset,” Actimed CEO Robin Bhattacherjee said in the Aug. 6 release.
“S-oxprenolol has obtained orphan drug designation for this indication and we plan to initiate a clinical development program once CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls) work for S-oxprenolol is completed,” Bhattacherjee added. “Actimed is also evaluating the full potential of S-oxprenolol in other muscle wasting disorders, and this transaction enhances our strategic flexibility and opportunities around this asset.”
Actimed’s pipeline is led by another anabolic-catabolic drug called S-pindolol benzoate, which is undergoing clinical trials for both cachexia in patients with non-small cell lung or colorectal cancer, as well as its effects on lean mass in obese patients receiving Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy.