Gilead announces licence and collaboration deal with Yuhan
Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company based in the US, has entered into a licensing and collaboration agreement with South Korean healthcare company Yuhan.
Under the terms of the agreement, announced on Sunday, January 6, by Gilead, the two companies will co-develop novel therapeutic candidates for the treatment of patients with advanced fibrosis due to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Fibrosis is the formation of excess fibrous connective tissue in an organ or tissue.
NASH is a chronic and progressive liver disease which can lead impaired liver function and advanced fibrosis.
Patients with advanced fibrosis due to NASH can develop end-stage liver disease, liver cancer or the need for a liver transplant. These patients are also at a higher risk of liver-related mortality.
Currently, NASH patients have limited treatment options.
“We are confident that Gilead’s expertise in liver disease will accelerate the development of our novel agents. As a company, we are committed to investigating new therapeutics to improve the lives of patients with NASH,” said Jung Hee Lee, president and CEO of Yuhan.
As part of the agreement, Gilead will acquire global rights to develop and commercialise “novel small molecules against two undisclosed targets” in countries across the world, except for South Korea, where Yuhan will retain certain rights.
Yuhan and Gilead will both conduct pre-clinical research. Additionally, Gilead will be responsible for commercialisation worldwide, except in South Korea.
Gilead’s announcement said Yuhan will receive $15 million upfront and it will be eligible to receive up to an additional $770 million in development and commercialisation milestone payments, plus royalties on future sales.
The agreement builds on an existing commercialisation collaboration between the two companies which supports the promotion of Gilead’s medicines in South Korea.
Chief scientific officer and head of research and development for Gilead, John McHutchinson, said Gilead looks forward to working with Yuhan in an area “where there is a significant unmet need for patients”.
“This collaboration builds on our long-term partnership with Yuhan, with a new focus on the investigation of novel approaches to treat patients with advanced fibrosis due to NASH that complement our ongoing research programmes,” he added.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox.
