Bioasis Technologies announced it has entered into a licensing agreement with a subsidiary of Prothena Corporation plc) (“Prothena”), granting Prothena certain rights to use the xB3 platform technology for neuroscience targets. The agreement gives Prothena a worldwide, exclusive license to use the xB3 platform in connection with one undisclosed neurodegenerative disease target as well as a time-limited option for three additional neuroscience targets to be named by Prothena. Under the terms of the agreement, Bioasis will receive an upfront payment of US$1 million and may receive up to an additional US$33 million in options exercise, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, plus additional royalties on net sales from the licensed products.
“Progress toward novel treatments for neurological disorders has been hampered by the limited ability of molecules to cross the blood-brain barrier, an area of significant unmet medical need. We believe our xB3platform combined with other compounds has the potential to develop innovative treatments for serious CNS diseases,” said Mark Day, Ph.D., director, president and chief executive officer, Bioasis. “Part of our strategy is to commercialize our xB3 platform and we are excited to work with Prothena, a recognized global leader in the research and development of potential therapies for use in treating neurodegenerative disorders.”
“We are impressed with the unique approach that Bioasis has developed to promote the transport of molecules across the blood-brain barrier and look forward to exploring the potential of this technology in the development of experimental therapeutic approaches,” said Wagner Zago, Ph.D., chief scientific officer, Prothena.