Bioasis Technologies Inc (CVE:BTI) (OTCQB:BIOAF) has reached a royalty purchase agreement with XOMA Corporation to sell certain rights to milestone and royalty revenue from the advancement of four enzymes the company is investigating as a treatment for lysosomal storage disorders (LSD).
The enzymes are being developed under Bioasis’ strategic alliance with Chiesi Group, the company said.
In exchange for a US$1.2 million upfront payment, XOMA will receive a low single-digit royalty on future net sales of each of the four enzymes and an undisclosed share of the up to US$138 million in potential milestones made possible by the Bioasis-Chiesi Group alliance.
READ: Bioasis Technologies secures US patent for its xB3 blood-brain barrier drug delivery platform
“Bioasis has a technology designed to deliver therapeutic candidates across the blood-brain barrier that we found interesting,” XOMA CEO Jim Neal said in a statement. “We are pleased that Chiesi Group, a well-respected pharmaceutical company, is driving the development efforts of these enzymes in rare disease indications and to be able to acquire an economic position in them.”
Bioasis struck an agreement with the Chiesi Group to license its xB3 platform technology to the research giant for the development of drugs targeting lysosomal storage disorders, which are inherited diseases caused by an abnormal build-up of toxic material in the body's cells due to enzyme deficiencies. People with lysosomal storage disorders lack specific enzymes that break down certain lipids (fats) or carbohydrates (sugars) in the body.
“We are pleased to enter into this arrangement with XOMA, which will allow Bioasis to deploy additional capital to progress its unpartnered pipeline programs targeting Parkinson’s disease, Lewy Body Dementia and Fronto Temporal Lobe Dementia and also secure further technology validating partnerships,” said Bioasis CEO Deborah Rathjen.
The blood-brain barrier plays an indispensable role in protecting the brain from blood-borne disease. However, it also blocks crucial medicines from reaching the brain posing an epic challenge to treating neurological diseases.
Like a key designed to open a lock, the xB3 platform unlocks the door to the blood-brain barrier, allowing compounds into the brain. In a nutshell, the xB3 platform uses a small peptide to ferry molecules across the BBB in a process called receptor-mediated transcytosis.
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