Teva has penned a second pact with Royalty Pharma, this time securing up to $500 million to support the clinical development of a drug for vitiligo.
The deal centers around TEV-‘408, an anti-IL-15 antibody that is currently in a phase 2 study for celiac disease as well as a phase 1b trial for vitiligo. Both studies are set to read out this year.
In the Jan. 11 release, Teva pointed to emerging information from the vitiligo study it claimed “provides preliminary support for IL-15 as a potential therapeutic target to treat a broad variety of autoimmune conditions.”
The deal with Royalty will see the financing company potentially hand $500 million to fund the development of TEV-‘408 for vitiligo specifically. The first tranche of $75 million will be used to bankroll the launch of a phase 2b study in the indication this year.
The only FDA-approved treatment for vitiligo, a chronic condition where skin loses pigment, is Incyte’s JAK inhibitor Opzelura. Attempts to develop new drugs for the condition ran into trouble last year, with both Incyte and Vyne Therapeutics scrapping their own candidates.
Teva’s theory is that by blocking IL-15 activity, TEV-‘408 can reduce the immune-mediated destruction of pigment-producing cells called melanocytes, which otherwise results in white patches on the skin characteristic of vitiligo.
If Royalty is happy with the results of the phase 2b vitiligo study, the company has the option to hand over the remaining $425 million, which would fund phase 3 development.
In return, Teva will make a milestone payment to Royalty if the drug makes it to market, followed by royalties on worldwide net sales. The companies didn’t offer a breakdown of these financials.
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Royalty financing has gained popularity lately as traditional fundraising becomes increasingly difficult amid an overall biotech market cooldown. Teva’s previous agreement with Royalty dates back to 2023, when the Israeli company secured $100 million in funding to support the clinical development of olanzapine LAI, a long-acting version of Eli Lilly’s schizophrenia drug Zyprexa,
As with that deal, Teva put its new agreement with Royalty deal in the context of the drugmaker’s “pivot to growth” strategy to accelerate its innovative pipeline and bring treatments to patients faster.
“This agreement with Royalty Pharma enables us to advance our science more efficiently and accelerate our pipeline to deliver meaningful solutions for patients worldwide,” Teva CEO Richard Francis said in yesterday’s release. “Vitiligo represents a significant unmet need, with only one approved topical treatment currently available and no systemic options.”
Royalty Pharma CEO Pablo Legorreta said the company’s continued collaboration with Teva “underscores Royalty Pharma’s role as a long-term, trusted partner with a focus on funding innovation in potentially transformative and practice changing therapies.”
