Axovant Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ: AXON) shares took off for the sky Wednesday, on word it has licensed investigational gene therapy for Parkinson's disease from Oxford BioMedica for an initial payment of $30 million.
The Swiss-based drug maker reported on AXO-Lenti-PD, the gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease that delivers three genes encoding a critical set of enzymes required for dopamine synthesis in the brain. Oxford BioMedica is a world leader in lentiviral vector product development and manufacturing, and will be the clinical and commercial supplier of AXO-Lenti-PD. Axovant expects to initiate a Phase 1/2 dose
Under the terms of the license agreement with Oxford BioMedica, Axovant obtained rights to AXO-Lenti-PD, as well as its predecessor product ProSavin®, for an initial payment of $30 million in cash, $5 million of which will be applied as a credit against the process development work and clinical supply that Oxford BioMedica will provide to Axovant.
Oxford BioMedica is also eligible to receive additional development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments potentially in excess of $812 million, and tiered royalties on net sales of AXO-Lenti-PD, if approved. Roivant has agreed to purchase $25 million of Axovant common shares, which will support the clinical development of AXO-Lenti-PD and additional business development activities.
CEO Pavan Cheruvu said: "Axovant remains committed to developing innovative treatments for serious neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, and we are excited to partner with Oxford BioMedica, a recognized global leader in cell and gene therapy."
The shares opened Wednesday sprang up $1.91, or 108.9%, to $3.66.
