Italy's Angelini invests up to $506 million in Japan's JCR for epilepsy drug

[May 11, 2023]  ROME (Reuters) - Family-owned Italian pharmaceutical group Angelini is set to invest up to $505.5 million to fund development of a new treatment for epilepsy by Japan's JCR Pharmaceuticals, capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier.

JCR owns a blood-brain barrier technology, dubbed J-Brain Cargo, which allows biotherapeutics to reach the central nervous system via a mechanism called receptor-mediated transcytosis.

Following the pre-clinical development phase, Angelini Pharma will have an exclusive license for the clinical development of therapeutic candidates and their commercialization outside of Japan.

In return, JCR will receive an upfront sum and will be eligible for additional payments up to the agreed total depending on development and commercial milestones. It will also be entitled to tiered royalties and retain the right to commercialize the drug in Japan.

Epilepsy affects more than 50 million people worldwide, the two companies said citing World Health Organization data.

Under CEO Sergio Marullo di Condojanni, the Angelini group has been betting on mental health drugs with a focus on epilepsy.

In 2021 Angelini Pharma struck an up $960 million all-cash deal to acquire Swiss firm Arvelle Therapeutics and commercialize in Europe cenobamate, a molecule to treat drug-resistant focal-onset seizures in adults.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Valentina Za)

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