Date: 2015-09-07
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: atexakin alfa
Company: Merck Serono, a Merck KGaA company (Germany) Relief Therapeutics (Switzerland)
Therapeutic area: Neurological diseases - Metabolic diseases
Type agreement: licensing
Action mechanism: protein. Atexakin alfa is a human recombinant version of interleukin-6 that has shown in preclinical studies to induce the re-growth of nerves and to re-establish normal nerve conduction and sensory perception in various relevant animal models of neuropathies. This product has been initially discovered at the Weizmann institute.
Disease: neuropathies including diabetic neuropathy
Details: * On September 7, 2015, Relief Therapeutics announced an in-licensing agreement from Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, giving Relief Therapeutics the worldwide exclusive rights to develop and commercialize atexakin alfa. Under the terms of the agreement, Relief Therapeutics will develop atexakin alfa for the treatment of neuropathies. Atexakin alfa has the potential of relieving pain, as well as non-pain symptoms associated with neuropathies by restoring normal innervation in the periphery. The molecule was first tested as a potential treatment for thrombocytopenia in chemotherapy-treated cancer patients allowing the delineation of its safety and pharmacodynamic profiles. Based on positive preclinical, toxicological and clinical data obtained at this time, Relief Therapeutics will engage into clinical development to test the therapeutic efficacy of atexakin alfa in diabetic patients suffering from neuropathy.
Financial terms: Financial terms were not disclosed.
Latest news:
