Date: 2015-02-24
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: Canbex Therapeutics (UK)
Acquiring company: Ipsen (France)
Amount: up to €96 million
Terms: * On February 24, 2015, Ipsen and Canbex Therapeutics announced that Canbex has granted Ipsen an option giving Ipsen the exclusive right to purchase 100% of Canbex shares upon completion of the Phase IIa study of Canbex’s lead candidate for the treatment of spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis, known as VSN16R.
Under the financial terms of the agreement, Ipsen has paid an option fee of €6 million ($6.8 million) to Canbex. If Ipsen elects to exercise its option to acquire Canbex at the end of the proof of concept phase 2 a study, Canbex’s shareholders will be eligible to receive a total of up to an additional €90 million ($103 million), comprising an acquisition payment, and additional milestone payments contingent upon launch subsequent to achievement of clinical and regulatory success. In addition, Canbex shareholders will be eligible to receive royalties on world-wide annual net sales of VSN16R.
Details: Canbex is a spin-off of University College London (UCL) that raised a Series A financing of $3.2 million in 2013 from MS Ventures, the Wellcome Trust and UCL Business Plc. VSN16R is a novel, orally active small molecule compound intended for the treatment of spasticity in multiple sclerosis and other disorders. Preclinical and Phase I clinical studies have demonstrated that VSN16R has the potential to provide substantially better patient care than existing systemic anti-spastic treatments. With VSN16R, Canbex aims to set a new standard in the treatment of spasticity. VSN16R was shown to be safe and well tolerated in its Phase I clinical safety trial. In the Phase I study, 72 healthy volunteers were enrolled in a placebo-controlled, single ascending- and multiple-ascending dose design. A phase 2 trial is currently ongoing.
Related: Neurodegenerative diseases
