HealthCare Royalty Partners funding supports
the ongoing launch of IBSRELA® in the United States in exchange for future
hyperphosphatemia royalty payments from Ardelyx Japanese
collaboration partner
WALTHAM,
Mass., June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ardelyx,
Inc. (Nasdaq: ARDX), a biopharmaceutical company founded with a
mission to discover, develop and commercialize innovative
first-in-class medicines that meet significant unmet medical needs,
today announced that the company may receive up to $20 million from HealthCare Royalty Partners
(HealthCare Royalty) from the sale of its future royalties and
sales milestones from Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd (Kyowa Kirin), its
collaboration partner in Japan for
the commercialization of tenapanor for hyperphosphatemia.
"We've been working with HealthCare Royalty for many years
looking to find an opportunity for us to work together. They have
been following the progress Kyowa Kirin has made in the development
of tenapanor in Japan and this
financing further validates the value and potential of tenapanor to
treat patients with hyperphosphatemia," said Mike Raab,
president and chief executive officer of Ardelyx. "Together
with the development milestones that may become due under the
license agreement with Kyowa Kirin and the payments that may become
due to Ardelyx under the recent amendment to the license agreement
with Kyowa Kirin, we now have the opportunity to receive up to
$85 million in non-dilutive capital
based on the potential of tenapanor for hyperphosphatemia in
Japan."
Under the terms of the agreement, Ardelyx will receive from
HealthCare Royalty a $10 million
upfront payment, an additional $5
million following Kyowa Kirin's receipt of regulatory
approval to market tenapanor for hyperphosphatemia in Japan, and $5
million in the event net sales in Japan exceed a certain target level by 2025.
In return, HealthCare Royalty will receive the royalty payments and
commercial sales milestones that Ardelyx may earn under the license
agreement with Kyowa Kirin.
"There has been a dearth of innovation in the hyperphosphatemia
market for too long and we believe tenapanor, as an innovative
non-binder therapy, has the potential to address signficiant unmet
needs in treating and controlling hyperphosphatemia," said
Clarke Futch, chairman and chief
executive officer of HealthCare Royalty. "We are pleased to support
Ardelyx's efforts, with its partner Kyowa Kirin, in gaining
potential approval and commercializing tenapanor for
hyperphosphatemia in Japan."
On April 11, 2022, Ardelyx
announced that it had amended its license agreement with Kyowa
Kirin. Under the agreement, in consideration for a reduction in the
royalty rate due to Ardelyx upon net sales in Japan,
Kyowa Kirin agreed to pay Ardelyx consideration of up to
$40 million payable in two
tranches, with payment due following Kyowa Kirin's filing with
the Japanese Ministry Health, Labour and Welfare
(MHLW) of its application for marketing approval for tenapanor,
which Kyowa Kirin has reported is expected in the second half of
2022, and the second payment due following Kyowa Kirin's approval
to market tenapanor for hyperphosphatemia in Japan, which
Kyowa Kirin has reported is currently expected in the second half
of 2023.
The royalty rate at which Kyowa Kirin will make payments on net
sales to Ardelyx under the amended license agreement was
reduced from the high teens to low double digits for a two-year
period, and then to mid-single digits. These royalty payments,
along with certain sales milestones that may become due to Ardelyx
under the license agreement have now been sold to HealthCare
Royalty.
About Ardelyx, Inc.
Ardelyx was founded with a mission to discover, develop and
commercialize innovative first-in-class medicines that meet
significant unmet medical needs. Ardelyx's first approved product,
IBSRELA® (tenapanor) is available in the United States. Ardelyx is developing
XPHOZAH® (tenapanor), a novel product candidate to
control serum phosphorus in adult patients with CKD on dialysis,
which has completed three successful Phase 3 trials. Ardelyx has a
Phase 2 potassium secretagogue program, RDX013, for the potential
treatment of elevated serum potassium, or hyperkalemia, a problem
among certain patients with kidney and/or heart disease and an
early-stage program in metabolic acidosis, a serious electrolyte
disorder in patients with CKD. Ardelyx has established agreements
with Kyowa Kirin in Japan, Fosun
Pharma in China and Knight
Therapeutics in Canada for the
development and commercialization of tenapanor in their respective
territories.
About HealthCare Royalty
Partners
HealthCare Royalty purchases royalties and uses debt-like
structures to invest in commercial or near-commercial stage life
science assets. HealthCare Royalty has $6.0
billion in cumulative capital commitments with offices in
Stamford (CT), San Francisco,
Boston and London. For more information, visit
www.healthcareroyalty.com. HEALTHCARE ROYALTY PARTNERS®
is a registered trademark of HealthCare Royalty Management, LLC in
the U.S. and a trademark in other countries.
Forward Looking
Statements
To the extent that statements contained in this press release
are not descriptions of historical facts regarding Ardelyx, they
are forward-looking statements reflecting the current beliefs and
expectations of management made pursuant to the safe harbor of the
Private Securities Reform Act of 1995, including the potential
receipt by Ardelyx of up to an aggregate of $85 million in development milestones from Kyowa
Kirin; payments from Kyowa Kirin under the recent amendment to the
license agreement with Kyowa Kirin and the royalty financing
agreement with HealthCare Royalty; Ardelyx's expectation regarding
the timing of Kyowa Kirin's filing for marketing approval for
tenapanor for hyperphosphatemia in Japan and Ardelyx's expectations regarding the
potential timing for Kyowa Kirin's marketing approval in
Japan. Such forward-looking
statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could
cause Ardelyx's future results, performance or achievements to
differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include,
among others, uncertainties in the drug development and regulatory
processes in Japan. Ardelyx
undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements. For a further description of the risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those
expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks
relating to Ardelyx's business in general, please refer to
Ardelyx's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission on May 5,
2022, and its future current and periodic reports to be
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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SOURCE Ardelyx