Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IONS) and AstraZeneca Plc (NASDAQ: AZN) both have inked an agreement to create and market Eplontersen. Eplontersen is a new antisense medicine of IONS for the cure of transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR). Ionis has been serving as the leader in RNA-targeted therapy for the past 30 years.
The new collaboration agreements will allow both the companies to mutually create, and market Eplontersen in the U.S. AstraZeneca holds a special license for Eplontersen outside the U.S., except in certain countries in Latin America. The companies' relationship includes cost-sharing stipulations for territory-specific development, commercial, and medical activities.
Transaction Overview
As per the agreement, Ionis will get a $200 million upfront payment, up to $485 million in development and approval milestones, and up to $2.9 billion in sales-related milestone payments. Ionis is also entitled to get royalties ranging from low double-digit to a mid-20s percentage depending on the region. Moreover, the company has shared the details of an agreement in Form 8-K filed with the SEC, on Dec. 7, 2021.
About Eplontersen
Eplontersen is previously known as IONIS-TTR-LRx. Its goal is to reduce the creation of transthyretin, or TTR protein, in order to cure ATTR, a systemic, deadly condition. It makes use of Ionis' LIgand-Conjugated Antisense (LICA) technology.