DALLAS, June 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SWK Holdings
Corporation (Nasdaq: SWKH), a life sciences focused specialty
finance company catering to small- and mid-sized commercial-stage
companies, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary,
Enteris BioPharma, received a $10
million milestone payment from Cara Therapeutics (Nasdaq:
CARA) related to the license agreement for the
Peptelligence® oral formulation technology utilized in
Oral KORSUVA™, the oral formulation of Cara's first-in-class KOR
agonist, CR845/difelikefalin. Enteris is entitled to retain
$3.9 million of this payment per the
contractual splits agreed to in the Enteris acquisition
agreement.
This milestone payment was triggered by confirmation from Cara
of the completion of an End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) for Oral KORSUVA in patients with
non-dialysis dependent (NDD) chronic kidney disease (CKD-aP). Cara
has indicated that it currently plans to initiate a Phase 3 program
by year-end 2021. Enteris received two previous milestone payments
totaling $5 million during the fourth
quarter of 2020 of which Enteris retained $3
million. Enteris is eligible to receive additional potential
milestone payments over the next several quarters, subject to the
achievement of certain development milestones for Oral KORSUVA.
"This is the third and largest milestone payment generated by
the Cara Therapeutics licensing agreement for Oral KORSUVA,
validating Enteris' ability to produce value for its pharmaceutical
partners and SWK's shareholders," stated Winston Black, Chairman and CEO of SWK. "The
milestones generated from the Cara licensing agreement also
highlight the ongoing potential to monetize Enteris' Peptelligence
and ProPerma™ technologies, given the numerous market and patient
advantages of developing oral tablet formulations of peptides and
small molecules. Enteris' oral delivery technologies,
combined with its manufacturing capacity and CDMO capabilities,
make it a potentially attractive partner to a range of
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies."
Oral KORSUVA was engineered using Enteris' Peptelligence
technology, which is designed to enable the oral delivery of
peptides and BCS class II, III and IV small molecules. Oral KORSUVA
is currently the subject of four separate clinical programs for
pruritus in patients with hepatic impairment due to primary biliary
cholangitis (PBC), stage III-V chronic kidney disease (CKD), atopic
dermatitis (AD) and notalgia paresthetica (NP). These programs have
multiple milestones anticipated to be achieved throughout 2021,
including top line Phase 2 data from the PBC program and the
initiation of a Phase 3 trial in atopic dermatitis.
In August 2019, Enteris and Cara
entered into a licensing agreement whereby Enteris granted to Cara
a non-exclusive, royalty-bearing license to the Peptelligence
technology to develop, manufacture and commercialize Oral KORSUVA
worldwide, excluding Japan and
South Korea. Enteris is eligible to receive milestone
payments upon the successful achievement of certain development,
regulatory and commercial milestones and low single-digit royalties
based on net sales in the licensed territory.
About SWK Holdings:
SWK Holdings Corporation is a
specialized finance company with a focus on the global healthcare
sector. SWK partners with ethical product marketers and royalty
holders to provide flexible financing solutions at an attractive
cost of capital to create long-term value for both SWK's business
partners and its investors. SWK believes its financing structures
achieve an optimal partnership for companies, institutions and
inventors seeking capital for expansion or capital and estate
planning by allowing its partners to monetize future cash flow with
minimal dilution to their equity stakes. SWK also owns Enteris
BioPharma, whose Peptelligence® and ProPerma™ drug
delivery technologies create oral formulations of peptide-based and
BCS class II, III, and IV small molecules. With Enteris, SWK has
the opportunity to grow its specialty finance business by actively
building a wholly-owned portfolio of milestones and royalties
through licensing activities. Additional information on the life
science finance market is available on the Company's website at
www.swkhold.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements including
words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends,"
"estimates," "plan," "will," "may," "look forward," "intend,"
"guidance," "future" or similar expressions are forward-looking
statements. Because these statements reflect SWK's current views,
expectations and beliefs concerning future events, these
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties.
Investors should note that many factors, as more fully described
under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in SWK's Form 10-K,
Form 10-Q and Form 8-K filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and as otherwise enumerated herein, could affect the
Company's future financial results and could cause actual results
to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release
are qualified by these risk factors. These are factors that,
individually or in the aggregate, could cause the Company's actual
results to differ materially from expected and historical results.
You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We
assume no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future
developments or otherwise.
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SOURCE SWK Holdings Corporation