EQT Life Sciences, a European life sciences venture capital firm, announced that CSL has entered into a strategic collaboration with its portfolio company VarmX to support the development of its lead asset, VMX-C001. CSL has also entered into an exclusive option agreement with VarmX shareholders to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of the company in a transaction worth up to $2.2B.
VarmX, based in Leiden, the Netherlands, is a biotech company developing innovative approaches for the bypass of direct oral anticoagulants targeting activated Factor Xa (FXa DOACs) and inherited coagulation disorders. More than 20 million patients globally take FXa inhibitors as chronic anticoagulation therapy, with approximately 3 per cent of these patients experiencing severe bleeding or requiring urgent surgery. Despite the unmet clinical need, no fully approved therapeutic agent is currently available in the E.U. or the U.S. for treating acute major bleeding in patients on Factor Xa inhibitors.
VMX-C001 is an investigational product, designed to bypass the FXa anticoagulation activity and swiftly restore coagulation in patients in urgent surgery and severe bleeding situations. Under the terms of the strategic collaboration agreement, CSL will fully fund VarmX's global Phase 3 trial evaluating VMX-C001. CSL will also fully fund and support VarmX in late-stage product development, manufacturing and pre-launch commercial and medical affairs activities.
EQT Life Sciences originally invested in VarmX in 2020, co-leading the company's Series B financing, investing from its LSP 6 fund. At the time, VMX-C001 was still in preclinical stages but with EQT's support, the company successfully completed a first-in-human clinical study and recently obtained FDA clearance for its Investigational New Drug (IND) application to start a global registrational Phase 3 trial with VMX-C001.
CSL will make an upfront payment to VarmX shareholders of $117M upon closing of the transaction for an exclusive option to acquire the company. CSL will have the right to exercise the option upon Phase 3 data. Subject to the achievement of certain milestones, following the exercise of the option and customary regulatory clearances, VarmX shareholders will receive a further $388M in acquisition and additional payments up to the commercial launch of VMX-C001 and up to $1.7B in sales-based success milestones thereafter.
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