On May 4, 2022 Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: JAZZ) and Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Osaka, Japan; Representative Director, President, and CEO: Hiroshi Nomura; Securities Code: 4506, Prime Market of TSE) reported that the companies have entered into an exclusive licensing agreement under which Jazz has acquired development and commercialization rights in the United States, Europe and other territories for Sumitomo Pharma’s investigational DSP-0187, a potent, highly selective oral orexin-2 receptor agonist with potential application for the treatment of narcolepsy, idiopathic hypersomnia and other sleep disorders. Jazz has designated this molecule JZP441 (Press release, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, MAY 4, 2022, View Source [SID1234613524]).

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Sumitomo Pharma initiated a Phase 1 trial in Japan of DSP-0187 in November 2021 to evaluate safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers. Jazz expects to rapidly advance development of DSP-0187 based on these clinical findings.

"Orexin agonism is an exciting area of sleep disorder research and an approach that may be complementary to oxybate therapy. We believe that DSP-0187 has the potential to advance the treatment of narcolepsy and other sleep disorders based on its profile," said Rob Iannone, M.D., M.S.C.E., executive vice president, global head of research and development of Jazz Pharmaceuticals. "As a leader in sleep medicine, we are committed to delivering innovative therapies to people who are living with debilitating sleep disorders. We look forward to leveraging our expertise in sleep disorders to rapidly advance this promising therapy into clinical trials in the U.S. and Europe. This agreement exemplifies both our ability to identify promising compounds that have the potential to improve patient care and our corporate objective of making strategic, value-creating investments in our pipeline."

"DSP-0187 is a potent, highly selective oral orexin-2 receptor agonist, which is a novel small molecule compound originally created by Sumitomo Pharma by utilizing our advanced expertise in drug discovery for central nervous system disorders. We are pleased to partner with Jazz on DSP-0187 given their strong track record of development success and commercial execution in sleep disorders and long-term commitment to advancing therapies to improve the lives of people with sleep disorders," said Toru Kimura, Representative Director, Executive Vice President of Sumitomo Pharma. "Jazz’s accomplishments in sleep medicine make the company an ideal partner for us as DSP-0187 enters its next phase of development."

Orexins are neuropeptides that play an important role in the regulation of sleep and wakefulness. DSP-0187 is a potent, highly selective orexin-2 receptor agonist designed to activate orexin signaling. DSP-0187 is initially planned to be evaluated in patients with narcolepsy, a debilitating sleep disorder which can manifest clinically with cataplexy, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), disrupted nighttime sleep (DNS), sleep paralysis and other symptoms. There is also potential for DSP-0187 to treat other sleep disorders.

Transaction Terms

Under the terms of the agreement, Jazz will receive an exclusive license to develop and commercialize DSP-0187 throughout the world except for Japan, China and certain other Asia/Pacific countries and regions, where Sumitomo Pharma will retain all development and commercialization rights. Sumitomo Pharma will receive an upfront payment of $50 million, and is eligible to receive development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments of up to $1.09 billion. Pending approval, Sumitomo Pharma is eligible to receive a tiered, low double-digit royalty on Jazz’s net sales of DSP-0187.