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news.Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Netherlands-based uniQure have entered into exclusive strategic collaboration to develop gene therapies for cardiovascular diseases.
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The deal will give BMS exclusive access to uniQure’s gene therapy technology platform for the development of new treatments.
The companies will collaborate on up to ten targets, mostly concentrating on cardiovascular therapies, such as a treatment to reinvigorate congestive heart failure patients’ ability to synthesize S100A1.
The Dutch firm will lead discovery efforts and clinical manufacturing, while BMS will fund the research, lead development and regulatory activities as well as have sole commercialization rights under the deal.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Discovery R&D head Carl Decicco said: "Bristol-Myers Squibb has an excellent and long-standing track record of success in discovering and developing treatments for cardiovascular diseases and in embracing advancing technologies for the treatment of human diseases.
"Collaborating with uniQure, a clear leader in the field with an innovative and validated gene therapy platform, further strengthens our capability to bring forward transformational new therapeutics for difficult-to-treat diseases, including cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure."
As part of the deal, BMS will pay $50m upfront and $100m total in the near-term, and the company will gain a sizeable stake in uniQure with options to but even more equity.
In addition, uniQure will receive R&D and milestone payments of $254m for the first main therapy and up to $217m for each of the other therapies.
uniQure chief executive officer Joern Aldag said: "Bristol-Myers Squibb’s strength in the cardiovascular area and its commitment to gene therapy will allow them to leverage the full breadth and capacity of our platform for cardiovascular diseases.
"This collaboration will accelerate the application of gene therapy for large patient populations suffering from heart diseases and will complement the further development of uniQure’s internal pipeline in two focus areas: liver diseases, including hemophilia, and CNS, including lysosomal storage diseases."
Image: BMS will have access to uniQure’s gene therapy technology platform to develop new treatments for cardiovascular diseases. Photo: courtesy of Michelle Meiklejohn/ freedigitalphotos.net.