Coya Therapeutics licenses Dr. Reddy's Abatacept for COYA 302 development
2 min read 20 Mar 2023, 07:21 PM ISTCoya will pay a one-time non-refundable upfront fee to Dr Reddy's, and will also owe tiered milestone payments to the company
PremiumHouston-based Coya Therapeutics, Inc. on Monday announced an agreement with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Ltd. to license its proposed biosimilar Abatacept for the development and commercialization of COYA 302 for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
As part of the deal, Coya will pay a one-time non-refundable upfront fee to Dr Reddy's, and will also owe tiered milestone payments to the company. However, Coya will retain exclusive rights to develop and commercialize COYA 302 in multiple territories, including North and South America, the EU, UK and Japan. Meanwhile, Dr. Reddy’s will have exclusive rights to commercialize COYA 302 in areas outside of Coya’s territory. Coya will owe tiered royalties to Dr. Reddy's on net sales in its licensed territory.
Coya expects to file IND for COYA 302 in the second half of 2023, with the goal of initiating a phase 1b/2 trial in ALS soon thereafter. The agreement also provides for the license of Coya 301, Coya's low dose IL-2, to Dr. Reddy's for commercialization of COYA 302 in territories not otherwise granted to Coya. Coya will receive royalties on net sales by Dr. Reddy's in their territories.
Finally, the companies have the option to enter into a mutually satisfactory commercial supply agreement at an appropriate time.
“This is a landmark agreement for Coya in our efforts to develop COYA 302. To partner with such a high-caliber pharmaceutical company like Dr. Reddy’s is what every emerging biotechnology company strives for, and we believe that the combined resources of both organizations strengthen our chances to bring this therapeutic modality to patients with neurodegenerative diseases if approved by regulatory authorities," said Howard H Berman, Ph.D., CEO of Coya Therapeutics.
Adrian Hepner, M.D., Ph.D. and CMO of Coya said, “We believe that the COYA 302 proof-of-concept clinical data in ALS patients is encouraging and sets the foundation to advance our development program. Our combination therapy approach has been designed to address the multiple pathophysiological pathways leading to chronic and sustained inflammation that drives the progression of serious neurodegenerative diseases. We plan to le an IND in the second half of this year and work closely with the regulatory authorities to initiate our clinical studies soon thereafter."
Jayanth Sridhar, Global Head of Biologics at Dr. Reddy’s commented, “We are very happy to collaborate with Coya in this effort to advance therapies that address critical unmet needs for a variety of neuro-degenerative diseases. As a global biosimilars developer, we believe our proposed Abatacept biosimilar will be valuable in the development of this innovative combination therapy. We continue to look for ways to use our scientific capabilities and product portfolio to serve patients around the world."
Shares of Dr Reddy's ended 0.07% higher at 4439.45 apiece on the NSE.
