Biohaven buys drug from Chinese biotech with promise for brain disorders
PHOTO | Andrew Venditti
Biohaven CEO Vlad Coric.
New Haven-based biotech company Biohaven has acquired a drug with promise for the treatment of brain disorders like Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
Biohaven announced last week it had acquired global rights outside of China for a drug now called BHV-8000 from China’s Hangzhou Highlightll Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. The drug is an oral inhibitor of two enzymes, TYK2 and JAK1, which are believed to play a role in the inflammatory process that leads to brain diseases.
Highlightll got $10 million in cash upfront in the deal in addition to $10 million in Biohaven equity, development and commercial milestone payments of up to $950 million and tiered royalty payments.
The new Biohaven drug can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and has fewer side effects than drugs in the same class of TYK2/JAK1 inhibitors, according to the company.
Biohaven CEO Dr. Vlad Coric said, “ BHV-8000, with its blood-brain barrier penetrant activity and dual profile of TYK2/JAK1 inhibition, offers the potential for a unique and highly attractive therapeutic advancement for the treatment of brain disorders.”
Biohaven said it plans to launch a Phase 1 study of the drug later this year.
Drugs that inhibit the same two enzymes have separately been shown to be effective in treating autoimmune, dermatologic and gastrointestinal ailments.
Biohaven earlier this month announced it had obtained positive pre-clinical results in trials of a drug for treatment of epileptic seizures.
After selling its migraine drug portfolio to Pfizer for $11.6 billion last year, Biohaven has focused its drug-discovery efforts on treatments for other neurological ailments like epilepsy, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments