Allergan and Heptares announce novel treatment collaboration

Allergan, a worldwide leading pharmaceutical company, and Sosei Group Corp. subsidiary, Heptares Therapeutics, recently announced that Allergan Pharmaceuticals International Ltd., an Allergan subsidiary, and Heptares have an agreement in place that will give Allegran exclusive worldwide licensing rights to a wide variety of novel subtype-selective muscarinic receptor agonists that are currently in development.

Each of the receptor agonists were designed to treat major neurological disorders, which includes Alzheimer’s.

Under the terms of the agreement, Allergan will provide Heptares an upfront payment of $125 million. Heptares could potentially receive milestone payments up to $665 million contingent on the success of clinical trials and the release of the first three compounds. If these licensed compounds reach specific annual sales numbers, Heptares could receive up to $2.5 billion. The agreement also contains a double-digit tiered royalty payment plan for net sales of the products.

The two companies will collaborate on a research and development program to which Allergan is committing $50 million. The program will focus on the advancement of candidates through Phase 2 studies. Should any of the licensed compounds make it to Phase 2b studies, Allergan will become responsible for the development, manufacturing and commercialization.