COUR Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class, disease-modifying therapies designed to induce antigen-specific tolerance for immune-mediated diseases, today announced a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, for the development and commercialization of COUR’s proprietary tolerogenic nanoparticle treatments for an autoimmune disease.
“Genentech has a long history of innovation, and we are excited to collaborate on the development of disease-modifying therapies leveraging COUR’s proprietary tolerance platform for the treatment of an autoimmune disease,” said Dannielle Appelhans, President and Chief Executive Officer of COUR. “We see Genentech as an ideal partner with world-class scientific expertise and together have an opportunity to build upon COUR’s clinical success to date in autoimmune diseases. Through this partnership, we believe we have the potential to have a significant impact on an important patient community.”
“We have a long and successful legacy of advancing innovative science and developing transformative medicines for people diagnosed with autoimmune diseases,” said Boris L. Zaïtra, Head of Roche Corporate Business Development. “Collaborating with innovative partners such as COUR supports our rigorous commitment to pioneering science in pursuit of advances in research, such as novel tolerogenic nanoparticle treatments, to deliver the most impactful medicines for patients with significant unmet needs.”
Under the terms of the agreement, COUR is eligible for upfront and near-term milestones of $40 million, plus additional development, commercial and net sales milestone payments that could exceed $900 million, as well as tiered royalties on net sales. Under the collaboration agreement with Genentech, COUR is responsible for the preclinical development and technical transfer of manufacturing. Genentech will be responsible for clinical development, regulatory filing, and commercialization.
About COUR Pharmaceuticals:
COUR Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies to treat patients with autoimmune diseases. COUR’s first-in-class therapies are based on our proprietary antigen-specific immune tolerance platform and are designed to reprogram the immune system to address the underlying root cause of immune-mediated diseases. Data from multiple clinical and preclinical programs have demonstrated the ability of COUR’s product candidates to induce antigen-specific immune tolerance and have the potential to treat a wide range of autoimmune diseases.
COUR is currently enrolling patients in a phase 1b/2a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical study in Myasthenia Gravis and developing a product candidate in Type 1 Diabetes in addition to having completed first-in-human studies in Celiac Disease (partnered with Takeda Pharmaceuticals), and Primary Biliary Cholangitis.
For more information, please visit www.courpharma.com
Contacts
For Investor Relations
Brian Bock, Chief Financial Officer
bbock@courpharma.com
For Media
Jason Braco
jbraco@lifescicomms.com