Biohaven has entered a global licensing and collaboration agreement with SK Biopharmaceuticals that could provide up to $795 million in upfront and milestone payments related to Biohaven’s Kv7 ion-channel platform, led by epilepsy candidate opakalim.
SK Biopharmaceuticals will receive an exclusive worldwide license to the platform, including opakalim, also known as BHV-7000. Biohaven will receive $400 million in near-term cash consideration: $350 million upon closing and $50 million in 2027. The company is also eligible for an additional $150 million in development and regulatory milestones.
The agreement includes tiered royalties to Biohaven ranging from the mid-teens to low twenties on U.S. net sales of opakalim, as well as mid-single-digit royalties on sales outside the United States.
Opakalim is an oral, once-daily selective Kv7.2/7.3 potassium-channel activator in Phase 2/3 development for focal epilepsy. Biohaven expects topline results from the RISE3 trial in the second half of 2026.
The candidate is designed to provide seizure control without the sedation, dizziness and other burdensome central nervous system side effects associated with many antiseizure medicines. Biohaven said the drug is intended to be used without dose titration.
Following the transaction’s closing, the companies will collaborate on development of opakalim through a potential FDA approval. SK Biopharmaceuticals will assume responsibility for future Kv7 program costs, including specified Knopp Biosciences and other Kv7 milestone obligations totaling up to $245 million, along with mid-single-digit royalty obligations to Knopp.
The assumed obligations include up to $185 million payable to Knopp upon U.S. and European Union approval, plus up to $60 million tied to milestones for future Kv7 pipeline programs.
Biohaven Chief Executive Vlad Coric said the partnership provides non-dilutive capital and allows the company to retain longer-term value through milestones and royalties without building its own commercial infrastructure for opakalim.
SK Biopharmaceuticals markets XCOPRI, or cenobamate, for adult partial-onset seizures in the United States through its SK Life Science subsidiary. The company has a dedicated epilepsy commercial organization and a neurology field force of more than 150 professionals.
SK Biopharmaceuticals Chief Executive Donghoon Lee said opakalim could complement the company’s epilepsy portfolio. The transaction is expected to extend Biohaven’s financial runway and enable it to continue investing in programs across immunology, neuroscience, metabolic conditions and rare diseases.
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