Apogee Therapeutics has secured a promise of up to $1.3 billion in financing from Blackstone Life Sciences (BXLS) as the biotech gears up to take its anti-IL-13 antibody into phase 3.
The eczema drug, called zumilokibart, produced mid-stage data earlier this year that analysts suggested showed the therapy could hold its own against Eli Lilly’s Ebglyss and Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent, based on cross-trial comparisons.
But to take the drug into pivotal trials and onto the market, Apogee—which had $1.3 billion in the bank at the end of March—needs even more cash.
The deal with BXLS could see the private equity investment firm provide up to $800 million in exchange for low-to-mid single digit tiered royalties on zumilokibart sales for 15 years. Of this tranche, Apogee can get $100 million straight away, with another $100 million available when phase 3 enrollment is completed and a further $200 million unlocked if the data from that trial is up to scratch.
The remaining $400 million is held back by BXLS until zumilokibart can secure FDA approval, according to an April 27 release.
On top of those milestone-related payments, the agreement with BXLS also includes access to up to $500 million of senior corporate debt if agreed by both parties. In total, the firm described the deal as comprising the “largest royalty financing for a pre-phase 3 program to date.”
Apogee CEO Michael Henderson, M.D., said the deal “provides non-dilutive flexible funding at an attractive cost of capital for the late-stage development of zumilokibart and establishes a path to commercialization and profitability for Apogee.”
“Our partnership with Blackstone Life Sciences represents a major milestone in the advancement of zumilokibart as the next meaningful first-line therapy for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis,” Henderson added.
The CEO also pointed to fresh data from the second part of the phase 2 study that he said showed zumilokibart “has the potential to be a transformative therapy for patients with differentiated efficacy and dosing in atopic dermatitis and other large I&I indications.”
The data, unveiled alongside the Blackstone agreement, showed that 65.9% of patients treated with mid-dose zumilokibart experienced a 75% or greater reduction in the size and severity of their eczema at 16 weeks. The results hit the study’s primary endpoint and justified Apogee’s plan to take this dose into phase 3.
Apogee has big plans beyond eczema, with Henderson affirming this morning that phase 2 studies in eosinophilic esophagitis and asthma are penciled in for the second half of 2026 and the first half of 2027, respectively.
BXLS Global Head Nicholas Galakatos said the investment firm is “excited to support Apogee’s advancement of zumilokibart through phase 3 development and potential commercialization.”
“Our collaboration with Apogee is a great example of our strategy to provide leading biotechnology companies with non-dilutive financing at scale and the resources and flexibility to further scientific innovation and invest in the advancement of their pipelines,” Galakatos added.
This strategy saw BXLS agree to a $250 million investment earlier this month for Anagram Therapeutics to develop its oral recombinant enzyme replacement therapy for pancreatic insufficiency. The firm also signed off on $400 million in March to help Teva advance its Sanofi-partnered bowel disease drug, and it pledged $700 million last year to support Merck & Co.’s plans for its TROP2-directed antibody-drug conjugate sac-TMT.
