Proximagen to sell sabcomeline
BrainCells Inc to pay up to US$51m, in addition to a royalty on sales
Proximagen Group, a UK-based biotechnology company focused on diseases of the central nervous system, is to sell sabcomeline, a development drug for neuropsychiatric conditions, to BrainCells Inc (BCI) for up to US$51m, as well as a royalty on sales.
Proximagen, a spin-out from King’s College London, acquired sabcomeline when it bought Minster Pharmaceuticals in February, and is selling the development programme because it does not fit into its core focus on neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, epilepsy, cognition and pain.
Under the terms of the deal, San Diego-based BCI will own the worldwide rights to sabcomeline and take responsibility for the clinical development, regulatory filing and commercialisation of the drug candidate.
The rights and obligations under the sabcomeline development and licence agreement signed between Minster and SmithKline Beecham (subsequently GlaxoSmithKline) in April 2001 will transfer to BCI. Consequently, BCI will take responsibility for future milestone and royalty payments due to GSK under this agreement.
BCI plans to initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate sabcomeline as augmentation to SSRIs for the treatment of patients with major depressive disorder.
Kenneth Mulvany, chief executive of Proximagen, said: ‘It makes strategic sense for us to divest sabcomeline, a drug programme developed for neuropsychiatric indications, to BrainCells, a company with particular expertise in neurogenesis and neuropsychiatric disorders.
