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June 30, 2020 Bioscience

Guilford’s Bioasis inks licensing deal worth up to $141M

Photo | Contributed Bioasis' Guilford office.
By Natalie Missakian

Bioasis Technologies Inc., a Guilford-based biotech that has developed a platform to deliver drugs across the brain’s filtering mechanism, has struck a licensing deal with an Italian healthcare group that is potentially worth up to $141 million.

Bioasis said late Monday that it had entered into a worldwide, exclusive licensing agreement with Chiesi Global Rare Diseases, a business unit of Chiesi Group, for its xB³ BBB platform technology in the treatment of rare diseases. 

Under the deal, Chiesi Group will pay Bioasis $3 million upfront and additional payments of up to $138 million based on development, regulatory and commercial milestones. Bioasis would also receive royalties on net sales of any approved licensed products.

The partnership will focus on treatments for four lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs), which were not disclosed. LSDs are inherited, metabolic diseases marked by an abnormal build-up of toxic materials in the body’s cells, due to enzyme deficiencies. 

“The unique delivery method of [Bioasis’] xB³ platform has the potential to overcome a significant challenge in the treatment of many neurological disorders, which is the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier,” said Giacomo Chiesi, head of Chiesi Global Rare Diseases, in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with the Bioasis team in advancing several new LSD clinical development programs using this technology platform.”

Chiesi Group will pick up all R&D and commercialization costs for the four proposed drugs. 

Founded in 2006 in Vancouver, Canada, Bioasis relocated its headquarters to Guilford in 2017. It specializes in treating central nervous system disorders in areas of high unmet need.

Chiesi Group, based in Parma, Italy, is an international research-focused healthcare group with a presence in 29 countries. Its Global Rare Diseases unit was established in February to focus on R&D for rare and ultra-rare disorders.  

Contact Natalie Missakian at news@newhavenbiz.com.

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