Date: 2017-05-31
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: ILT-101 (low-dose interleukin-2)
Company: Iltoo Pharma (France) Servier (France)
Therapeutic area: Autoimmune diseases
Type agreement: licensing
Action mechanism: interleukin
Disease: systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
Details:
- • On May 31, 2017, Servier and Iltoo Pharma announced the signature of an exclusive license option agreement for the development and commercialization of the ILT-101 drug
candidate (low-dose interleukin-2) for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as the first target indication. This option shall be triggered in 2018 when the results of the ongoing phase 2 clinical study in SLE patients are known.
- A French academic research team from AP-HP hospital authority and Sorbonne Universities led by
Prof. Klatzmann, the co-founder of Iltoo Pharma, made the original discovery that low-dose IL-2 represents a promising therapy for multiple autoimmune diseases. These pathologies are caused by a shortage of regulatory T cells, a population of immune system cells that protects our tissue from attacks by other cell sub-populations from within our own immune system. Low-dose IL-2 stimulates the regulatory T cells, restoring this protection. This approach has the unique advantage of overcoming immune system dysregulation through the administration of a natural therapeutic protein. In contrast, the conventional immunosuppressive approach blocks the immune system at large, triggering potentially serious side effects in certain cases. Servier has decided to team up with Iltoo Pharma to deliver the benefits of these advances to patients.
Financial terms:
- Under the terms of the agreement, and depending on the results of this international phase 2 trial in patients suffering from moderate to severe SLE, Servier may decide to exercise the license option to develop and commercialize ILT-101 (low-dose IL-2) worldwide in the treatment of autoimmune
diseases, except for the United States and Japan, where Iltoo Pharma retains exclusive rights. In return for the grant of this option, Ilto Pharma will receive €8 million immediately, and subsequent payments comprising one upfront payment upon exercise of the option, plus development and sales milestones worth a total of €200 million. The agreement also provides for double-digit royalty payments on future sales.
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