RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Durham-based Brii Biosciences will net some $24 million up front and also secured future royalty payments in a deal involving the sale of its share in a biotech that’s being acquired by Japan-based pharmaceutical company Shionogi.
The deal was announced Sunday.
Brii owns a partial stake in Qpex, which is being sold and is based in San Diego. Shionogi is paying $140 million for Qpex.
The deal also involves various product rights.
The full announcement follows:
Brii Biosciences Announces Entry into Definitive Agreements from Sale of its Equity Interest in Qpex Biopharma and Acquiring Exclusive Global Rights for BRII-693
DURHAM – Brii Biosciences Limited (“Brii Bio,” “we,” or the “Company”, stock code: 2137.HK), a biotechnology company developing therapies to improve patient health and choice across diseases with high unmet needs, today announced that it entered into definitive agreements with Qpex Biopharma (“Qpex”) and third parties in connection with the acquisition of Qpex by Shionogi.
Under the terms of the agreement, Brii Bio will acquire exclusive global rights for the development and commercialization of BRII-693 (also known as QPX9003) to expand from its existing rights in Greater China. All existing cost-share, milestone and royalty payments associated with BRII-693 to Qpex are eliminated. The Company will return its exclusive rights to QPX7728-based products BRII-636 and BRII-672 in Greater China to Qpex and Brii will no longer be responsible for cost-share, milestone and royalty payments to Qpex associated with these products.
In association with the return of QPX7728-based program rights to Qpex, Qpex will complete a merger through acquisition by Shionogi. Brii Bio will receive approximately $24 million upon closing of the acquisition as a Qpex shareholder and the return of the QPX7728 product rights, with potential contingency payments for future milestone events in the US.
BRII-693 is a novel synthetic lipopeptide in development for the treatment of critically ill patients with MDR/XDR gram-negative bacterial infections, especially carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In October 2019, Brii Bio entered into a licensing agreement with Qpex to develop and commercialize BRII-693 and the QPX7728-based products in Greater China.
“With the demonstrated antibacterial mechanism and improved safety profile, BRII-693 has the potential to be the safest and most effective polymyxin for the treatment of critically ill patients with gram-negative bacterial infections,” said Zhi Hong, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Brii Bio, “Given the microbiological and clinical profile of BRII-693, we are very excited about this opportunity to prioritize and focus on the global development of this agent.”
In April 2023, Brii Bio submitted a pre-IND to the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for the development of BRII-693 (QPX9003) in China.
