Angelini Pharma has worked out a $550 million-plus biobucks deal to get its hands on a Korean biotech’s preclinical neuro asset.
The deal gives Angelini the option for exclusive licensing rights to SVG1051—an investigational compound from Sovargen—except in certain regions of Asia, according to a Sept. 22 release.
In return, the South Korean biotech will receive an upfront payment of an undisclosed amount and have the chance to receive an additional $550 million in development and commercial milestone payments, plus royalties.
Together, the Italy-based pharma and South Korean company will move the asset through preclinical development. Angelini will then have the option to move SVG1051 into clinical testing and commercialization, with exclusive rights excluding only the Republic of Korea, China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Sovargen’s SVG1051 holds potential across certain “brain health” diseases, encompassing both neurological and mental health conditions, according to Angelini.
The candidate is an antisense oligonucleotide designed to target pathways for mammalian target of rapamycin. The enzyme is a genetically validated target in several conditions, such as drug-resistant childhood epilepsy, according to the release.
“Neurological disorders like epilepsy are major contributors to global disease challenges,” Angelini CEO Jacopo Andreose said in the release. “For example, many people living with epilepsy are still unable to reach seizure control despite combination treatment of several anti-seizure medications.”
“Our work on SVG105 will be motivated by the ambition to bring much-needed solutions to people living with brain health conditions across the world,” the CEO added.
The deal follows a string of other brain-related pacts Angelini has inked over the last two years, including another deal with a South Korean biotech called Cureverse. The 2024 partnership centers around a clinical-stage small molecule the biotech had touted for its potential in Alzheimer’s disease, but Angelini placed more emphasis on the therapy’s potential in epilepsy.
The company has also teamed up with Japanese biotech JCR Pharmaceuticals, OmniAB and, most recently, Grin Therapeutics in the last few years.