RELIEF THERAPEUTICS Holding AG, a biopharmaceutical company with its lead compound RLF-100™ (aviptadil) in advanced clinical development to treat severe COVID-19 patients, and Acer Therapeutics Inc. (“Acer”), a pharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, development, and commercialization of therapies for serious rare and life-threatening diseases with significant unmet medical needs, today announced that the companies entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement (“CLA”) for worldwide development and commercialization of ACER-001. ACER-001 is a proprietary powder formulation of sodium phenylbutyrate (NaPB) designed to be both taste-masked and immediate release.
Under the terms of the CLA, Acer will receive an approximately $10 million cash payment within 15 business days of CLA execution (originally $14 million, to be offset by repayment of the $4.0 million outstanding balance of the prior loan, plus interest, from Relief to Acer). Relief will also pay Acer up to $20 million in U.S. development and commercial launch costs for the UCDs and MSUD indications. Acer will retain development and commercialization rights in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Turkey, and Japan. The companies will split net profits from Acer’s territories 60%:40% in favor of Relief. In addition, Relief has licensed the rights for the rest of the world, where Acer will receive from Relief a 15% royalty on all revenues received in Relief’s territories. Acer may also receive a total of $6 million in development milestone payments following the first European (EU) marketing approvals for UCDs and MSUD.
Jack Weinstein, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Relief, said, “We are excited to continue moving forward with the Acer team to develop and commercialize ACER-001 around the globe to address important unmet needs for patients suffering from these rare diseases. This collaboration is an important step in Relief’s plan to build a diversified late-stage pipeline beyond our lead candidate, RLF-100™, which is currently in development for the treatment of respiratory illnesses due to COVID-19 infection. We are pleased to have been able to conclude this agreement, as the advanced stage of development and market opportunity with ACER-001 make this compound a perfect fit for Relief’s strategy.”
Chris Schelling, Acer’s CEO and Founder, said, “Our collaboration with Relief will provide important resources and additional expertise to advance the development of ACER-001 toward our goal of bringing this product candidate to patients suffering from UCDs and MSUD. We look forward to partnering with the team at Relief to advance this program and to potentially provide a much-needed treatment option for patients with these rare and debilitating diseases.”
An ACER-001 pre-NDA meeting with the U.S. FDA is scheduled to occur in the second quarter of 2021. Acer expects to receive official meeting minutes approximately 30 days after the meeting.
ACER-001 is an investigational product being studied for the treatment of patients with UCDs and MSUD and has not been approved by the U.S. FDA or any regulatory agency outside the U.S. for any indication. There can be no assurance that if submitted, a New Drug Application or equivalent will be accepted by the U.S. FDA or any other regulatory agency for filing and review or, if filed, that it will be approved.