Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. and Mundipharma announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership to develop and commercialize rezafungin for the treatment and prevention of invasive fungal infections. Rezafungin is a novel, once-weekly echinocandin antifungal being developed for the first-line treatment of candidemia and invasive candidiasis as well as for the prophylaxis of invasive fungal infections in patients undergoing allogeneic blood and marrow transplantation, for which no new therapies have been approved in over 13 years.
The partnership agreement follows Cidara’s recent announcement of the successful completion of its STRIVE B Phase 2 trial. Under the terms of the agreement, in exchange for granting Mundipharma exclusive commercialization rights to rezafungin outside the U.S. and Japan, Cidara will receive a $30 million upfront payment and Mundipharma will make a $9 million equity investment in Cidara. Cidara will also receive an additional $42 million in near-term funding to support the global Phase 3 ReSTORE and ReSPECT trials for the treatment and prevention of fungal infections. In addition, Cidara is eligible to receive development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, representing a total potential transaction value of $568 million plus double-digit royalties. Cidara will continue to lead the ongoing global Phase 3 development programs for rezafungin with the support of Mundipharma. The companies may pursue additional indications or formulations of rezafungin.
“This is a transformational collaboration for Cidara, and we look forward to working closely with our colleagues at Mundipharma, a highly successful, profitable company with a commercial presence spanning 120 markets worldwide and annual sales exceeding €2 billion,” said Jeffrey Stein, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Cidara. “Mundipharma is particularly well positioned globally with established hospital and hematology/oncology business units to fully leverage the commercial potential of rezafungin. Through this partnership, both companies fully commit to advancing rezafungin and helping to save the lives of patients who are highly vulnerable to these deadly infections.”
“By partnering with Cidara on rezafungin, we continue to serve our purpose – to move medicine forward,” said Alberto Martinez, Ph.D., M.B.A., President and Chief Executive Officer of Mundipharma. “In a world where antifungal resistance is posing a major threat to the lives of vulnerable immunocompromised patients, rezafungin shows promise to address a major unmet medical need as well as potentially providing a wider spectrum of efficacy in a more convenient administration schedule. With our proven commercial excellence we are confident that we will maximize the potential of this differentiated and innovative asset. Rezafungin will be a significant addition to our pipeline that integrates well with our overall portfolio and sales force capabilities. We are excited to work with the team at Cidara to deliver such an important medicine to patients around the world.”