Boehringer Ingelheim and Click Therapeutics are restructuring their marketing deal for the software-based schizophrenia treatment CT-155, as the German pharma also opens its coffers.
Under what the pair is calling a new “strategic agreement,” announced in an April 9 statement, Boehringer is handing over full product responsibility, including commercial and marketing authorization rights, to Click.
As part of the tactical shift, Boehringer is making a $50 million series D investment in the digital therapeutics company, as well as providing “dedicated commercial funding to help bring CT-155 to patients.” The company did not specify how much the commercial funding would entail.
The original deal, penned back in 2020, saw Click primarily responsible for R&D of the treatment, while Boehringer took on worldwide commercialization activities.
The total deal value at the time was more than $500 million, with Click also set to grab tiered royalties on annual net sales of CT-155 worldwide.
In October, the pair released topline phase 3 data for CT-155, which works as a prescription digital therapeutic for the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, showing it had met its primary endpoint. Negative symptoms of schizophrenia include social withdrawal, inability to feel pleasure and reduced emotional expression.
The phase 3 study tracked experiential negative symptoms through week 16; CT-155 beat a digital control, improving scores by 6.8 points vs. 4.2 for control.
In contrast to the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, “positive” symptoms include hallucinations and delusions.
Prescription digital therapeutics are software-based medical treatments that require a healthcare provider’s prescription and must be authorized by the FDA.
Boehringer and Click first teamed up for schizophrenia-focused research in 2020 and expanded the partnership in 2022 to include additional aspects of the condition.
Benshoof Klein, CEO and founder of Click, said in a release that the company was “eager to take the lead with CT-155” as it now sets its sights on a possible FDA approval.
Click announced last year that it raised an undisclosed sum through a series C funding round, backed entirely by Dassault Systèmes and its Medidata Solutions division.