Ipsen Enters Into Option Agreement to Acquire Canbex Therapeutics
Ipsen and Canbex Therapeutics Ltd announced that Canbex has granted Ipsen an option giving Ipsen the exclusive right to purchase 100% of Canbex shares upon completion of the Phase IIa study of Canbex’s lead candidate for the treatment of spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), known as VSN16R. Canbex is a spin-off of University College London (UCL) that raised a Series A financing of $3.2 million in 2013 from MS Ventures (the corporate venture arm of Merck Serono, Merck KGaA), the Wellcome Trust and UCL Business Plc.
Under the financial terms of the agreement, Ipsen has paid an option fee of €6 million ($6.8 million) to Canbex. If Ipsen elects to exercise its option to acquire Canbex at the end of the proof of concept Phase IIa study, Canbex’s shareholders will be eligible to receive a total of up to an additional €90 million ($103 million), comprising an acquisition payment, and additional milestone payments contingent upon launch subsequent to achievement of clinical and regulatory success. In addition, Canbex shareholders will be eligible to receive royalties on world-wide annual net sales of VSN16R.
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