On March 16, 2020 Carna Biosciences Inc. (JASDAQ: 4572), a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the discovery and development of innovative small molecule drugs, reported that it has entered into a license agreement with BioNova Pharmaceuticals Limited, a China-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicines for the treatment of diseases with high unmet medical needs, to develop and commercialize AS-1763, a novel next-generation non-covalent Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor for the Greater China territory (Press release, Carna Biosciences, MAR 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234614079]).
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"BioNova is the ideal partner for Carna to accelerate the development of our next generation BTK inhibitor for blood cancers, considering the competitive environment in the US for patient recruitment," said Masaaki Sawa, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Research and Development at Carna Biosciences. "We look forward to working together with BioNova to advance AS-1763 forward as quickly as possible."
"This partnership with BioNova gives us more opportunities to maximize the potential of AS-1763 in cancer treatment. We look forward to collaborating with the BioNova team to deliver our innovative drug to patients with cancer," said Kohichiro Yoshino, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer at Carna Biosciences.
"With the recent success of BTK inhibitors becoming standard of care for certain B-cell malignancies, there are emerging acquired resistances, and most commonly C481S mutation in particular, resulted from the treatment of first-generation covalent BTK inhibitors," said Ye Hua, MD, MPH, Founder and CEO of BioNova. "The collaboration with Carna offers us the opportunity to investigate a potential solution for this high unmet medical need with a target therapy that is tailored to overcome drug resistance."
Under the terms of the license agreement, Carna has granted to BioNova an exclusive license to develop and commercialize AS-1763 in Greater China. Carna retains worldwide rights excluding Greater China to develop and commercialize AS-1763. In connection with this agreement, Carna will receive an upfront payment and potential milestone payments up to $205 million upon achievement of certain development and commercial milestones. Carna will also receive tiered royalties up to double digits on net sales in Greater China.