Dive Brief:
- Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. has tapped Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. to use its subcutaneous delivery technology for the development of up to four targets.
- Halozyme will receive $40 million upfront, as well as $160 million in milestones for each target. The biotech will also be eligible for mid-single digit royalties on the sale of any products.
- The deal will include a next-gen subcutaneous formulation ALXN1210, a long-acting C5 complement inhibitor. The companies are hoping the ENHANZE technology will improve delivery for ALXN1210, making dosing every two weeks or once per month.
Dive Insight:
The deal is the eighth technology partnership for Halozyme, which inked two other collaborations for its ENHANZE program this year. Both Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Roche AG signed on separately to use the drug-delivery platform technology.
For Halozyme, the platform deals allow the company to bring in cash that support the development of its own oncology pipeline.
ENHANZE uses recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme (rHuPH20), a protein that temporarily breaks down a type of sugar responsible for adding structure to the skin. Dismantling that creates channels underneath the skin and enables a patient to more readily absorb treatments. Technology like Halozyme's can give companies the opportunity to improve convenience for patients and bolster lifecycle management for older drugs.
So far, four drugs using the enzyme have received approval in the U.S. and/or Europe: subcutaneous Herceptin (trastuzumab) for HER2-positive breast cancer; Hyqvia (immune globulin infusion 10%) for immune support; and subcutaneous MabThera/Rituxan Hycela (rituximab) for multiple cancers.
As for Alexion, the biotech has looked to diversify away from its dependence on its blockbuster rare disease drug Soliris (eculizumab), which faces increased competition.
The company's marketing of Soliris has triggered controversy, leading to a corporate restructuring. Earlier this year, Alexion cut 7% of its workforce and reshuffled management.
The biotech now needs to expand its pipeline and has funneled further resources behind ALXN1210 in order to prioritize the Soliris follow-on. That has also meant culling investment elsewhere. Alexion announced in February that it would drop development of its drug candidate SBC-103, a potential treatment for mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) IIIB, which it acquired as part of its $8.4 billion acquisition of Synageva in 2015.