Date: 2013-08-23
Type of information: Development agreement
Compound: antiviral treatment for cats
Company: Okapi Sciences (Belgium) Novartis (Switzerland)
Therapeutic area: Veterinary medicine
Type agreement: development
commercialisation
Action mechanism:
Disease:
Details: * On August 23, 2013, Okapi Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing antiviral treatments for animals, has announced that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with Novartis Animal Health for the joint development and commercialisation of an antiviral treatment for cats. This novel drug will potentially be the world’s first antiviral small molecule specifically developed for veterinary use. In close collaboration with Novartis Animal Health, Okapi Sciences is responsible for finalising the clinical development work and applying for marketing authorisation at the European Medicines Agency and the FDA.
Okapi Sciences is a spin-off of KU Leuven (Belgium), the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in Prague (Czech Republic) and the University of Liège (Belgium). Current investors are Agri Investment Fund, Thuja Capital, BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity Arkimedes, KeBeK Arkiv, PMV, Gemma Frisius Fonds and Spinventure.
Financial terms: Under the terms of the agreement Okapi Sciences will receive payments if milestones are achieved, as well as royalties on any eventual sales of the product. Financial details were not disclosed.
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