Biohaven has struck a regional licensing deal with Ono Pharmaceutical that brings as much as $100 million in near-term cash and gives Ono rights to Biohaven’s mode pan-IgG degrader portfolio across Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and ASEAN markets.
The agreement calls for $80 million upfront at closing and another $20 million tied to a milestone Biohaven expects within about a year. Biohaven also stands to receive royalties of about 20% on Ono’s net sales in the licensed territory.
The assets covered by the deal are led by BHV-1300, Biohaven’s phase 3 candidate for Graves’ disease, and include follow-on compounds BHV-1310 and BHV-1320. Biohaven keeps all rights outside the licensed region, including the U.S., Europe and China.
BHV-1300 is already in phase 3 development. In a phase 1b Graves’ disease study, the drug produced a deep reduction in the pathogenic autoantibody to the TSH receptor, rapid normalization of free T3 and free T4, and symptom improvement. Biohaven said the drug has also shown up to an 87% reduction in total IgG in ongoing phase 1 studies.
The deal is Biohaven’s first regional collaboration for an extracellular protein degrader. Ono will take on development and commercialization in the four licensed regions, while Biohaven retains global rights elsewhere. As a result of these announcements, the company's shares have moved 4.58% on the market, and are now trading at a price of $11.43. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.
