uniQure Reacquires Development and Commercialization Rights for its Gene Therapy Candidate in Hemophilia B
~ Company now owns full global rights to late-stage program with clinical proof-of-concept ~
LEXINGTON, Mass. and AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, July 31, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE), a leading gene therapy company advancing transformative therapies for patients with severe medical needs, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Chiesi Group to reacquire the rights to co-develop and commercialize its hemophilia B gene therapy in Europe and other select territories and to terminate their co-development and license agreement.
"We are very pleased to reach an agreement with Chiesi to acquire back European and other territorial rights to our lead gene therapy program in hemophilia B," stated Matthew Kapusta, Chief Executive Officer of uniQure. "By regaining unencumbered, global rights to a late-stage program that has demonstrated significant clinical benefit for patients with hemophilia B, we believe uniQure is better positioned to accelerate the global clinical development plan, maximize shareholder return on our pipeline and take advantage of new potential opportunities related to the program. We are grateful for the substantial investments that Chiesi has made in AMT-060, and we have been fortunate to have them as a collaboration partner over the years."
"As we recently announced, we have made significant progress in preparing for a late-stage clinical program in hemophilia B and look forward to providing additional updates this fall," added Mr. Kapusta.
"Chiesi's decision was driven by recent changes in our strategic priorities," stated Ugo Di Francesco, Chief Executive Officer of Chiesi. "We greatly appreciate the advances uniQure has made in the development of AMT-060 over the years and sincerely wish them the best as they advance this potentially exciting gene therapy to patients. We will continue to support the transition and expect it will be relatively quick and seamless."
In 2013, uniQure and Chiesi entered into an agreement for the co-development and commercialization of a hemophilia B gene therapy in Europe and other select territories, including an equal sharing of all development related costs. Under the terms of the agreement announced today, uniQure will be responsible for all future development costs related to its hemophilia B program, including approximately $3 million of expenses in 2017 that would have otherwise been shared with Chiesi. The Company does not expect the transaction will impact its previous cash guidance, and continues to anticipate cash on hand will be sufficient to fund operations into 2019.
As a result of the transaction, uniQure expects to recognize in the third quarter of 2017 the remaining deferred revenue of approximately $14 million from non-refundable payments received from Chiesi in 2013.
