60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SXTP; SXTPW) (“60
Degrees” or the “Company”), pharmaceutical company, and Tufts
Medical Center (“Tufts MC”), a leading academic medical center,
today announced the signing of a Patent License Agreement to
jointly advance the development and commercialization of
tafenoquine for the treatment and prevention of
babesiosis.
Tafenoquine is not currently approved by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for the treatment and
prevention of babesiosis.
The agreement follows initiation of collaboration between
researchers from both organizations to study the activity of
tafenoquine against babesiosis, a serious
tick-borne disease caused by microscopic parasites that infect red
blood cells. The study formed the basis of U.S. Provisional Patent
Application No. 63/461,060, and related U.S. utility and PCT
applications, granting the parties shared intellectual property
rights to tafenoquine’s potential future use for
babesiosis.
Key Highlights of the Agreement:
- Joint Patent Ownership: 60 Degrees and Tufts
MC will co-own patent applications related to
tafenoquine for babesiosis, with the Company
leading prosecution and maintenance activities worldwide.
- Commercialization Rights: 60 Degrees holds
exclusive global rights to commercialize
tafenoquine for babesiosis, including sublicensing
to third parties for product development and sales.
- Research Collaboration: Tufts MC retains a
royalty-free, global license for research purposes, further
advancing innovation in this area.
- Royalties and Revenue Sharing: Tufts MC will
receive royalties on net sales of
tafenoquine-based products labeled for babesiosis
treatment or prevention.
- Commitment to Development: 60 Degrees has
committed to using commercially reasonable efforts to bring
tafenoquine products to market (beyond ARAKODA)
and to expanding access to innovative therapies for
babesiosis.
“This agreement demonstrates the growing confidence Tufts
Medical Center and 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals have in
tafenoquine’s potential as a next-generation
therapeutic for babesiosis,” said Chief Executive Officer of 60
Degrees Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Geoff Dow, PhD. “Today, those whose
disease has progressed past the initial stages of mild symptoms may
have limited treatment options. We believe
tafenoquine, if approved, has the potential to
meet this growing unmet need. Tafenoquine also has
the potential to become the first prophylaxis available for
babesiosis.”
About Babesiosis and the Study of Tafenoquine for
Patients Hospitalized with Babesiosis Babesiosis is a
steadily emerging, infectious disease that is caused by a
microscopic parasite, Babesia, and is transmitted through the bite
of the black-legged (deer) tick, the vector that also spreads Lyme
disease. Babesiosis, an orphan disease, may be life-threatening in
elderly and immunosuppressed patients. Up to 10 percent of Lyme
disease patients may be coinfected with Babesia. Therefore, up to
47,600 of the estimated 476,000 patients with new Lyme infections
each year may be coinfected with Babesia. Cases reported in the
medical literature suggest that tafenoquine is a
promising therapeutic for patients with relapsing babesiosis. The
efficacy and safety of 8-aminoquinolines, a class of drugs that
includes tafenoquine and primaquine, are well
documented.
60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals is the sponsor of a clinical trial
evaluating the efficacy and safety of tafenoquine
in treating severe babesiosis in humans. The trial is now enrolling
and is being conducted at multiple sites in the U.S., including at
Tufts Medical Center, Rhode Island Hospital, Yale University and
Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The study is a randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that compares the safety and
efficacy of tafenoquine versus placebo in patients
hospitalized for babesiosis and treated with standard-of-care. The
two main study endpoints will be the time to sustained clinical
resolution of symptoms and the time to molecular cure as determined
by an FDA-approved nucleic acid test. At least 24, and as many as
33 patients, will be recruited before an interim analysis is
conducted. The interim analysis will include both a test of
significance, as well as size re-estimation to allow additional
recruitment if required.
Tafenoquine is approved for malaria prophylaxis
in the United States under the product name ARAKODA®. The safety of
the approved regimen of tafenoquine for malaria
prophylaxis has been assessed in five separate randomized,
double-blind, active comparator or placebo-controlled trials for
durations of up to six months. Tafenoquine has not
been proven to be effective for treatment or prevention of
babesiosis and is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration for such an indication.
About ARAKODA®
(tafenoquine)Tafenoquine was
discovered by Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
Tafenoquine was approved for malaria
prophylaxis in 2018 in the United States as ARAKODA® and
in Australia as KODATEF®. Both were commercially launched
in 2019 and are currently distributed through pharmaceutical
wholesaler networks in each respective country. They are available
at retail pharmacies as a prescription-only malaria prevention
drug. According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, the long terminal half-life
of tafenoquine, which is approximately 16
days, offers the advantage of less frequent dosing for the
prophylaxis of malaria. ARAKODA® is not suitable for
everyone, and patients and prescribers should review the Important
Safety Information below. Individuals at risk of contracting
malaria are prescribed ARAKODA® 2 x 100 mg tablets once per day for
three days (the loading phase) prior to travel to an area of the
world where malaria is endemic, 2 x 100 mg tablets weekly for up to
six months during travel, then 2 x 100 mg in the week following
travel.
ARAKODA® (tafenoquine) Important Safety
Information
ARAKODA® is an antimalarial indicated for the prophylaxis of
malaria in patients aged 18 years and older.
Contraindications
ARAKODA® should not be administered to:
- Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (“G6PD”) deficiency or
unknown G6PD status;
- Breastfeeding by a lactating woman when the infant is found to
be G6PD deficient or if
- G6PD status is unknown;
- Patients with a history of psychotic disorders or current
psychotic symptoms; or
- Known hypersensitivity reactions to
tafenoquine, other 8-aminoquinolines, or any
component of ARAKODA®.
Warnings and Precautions
Hemolytic Anemia: G6PD testing must be
performed before prescribing ARAKODA® due to the risk of hemolytic
anemia. Monitor patients for signs or symptoms of hemolysis.
G6PD Deficiency in Pregnancy or Lactation:
ARAKODA® may cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman
with a G6PD-deficient fetus. ARAKODA® is not recommended during
pregnancy. A G6PD-deficient infant may be at risk for hemolytic
anemia from exposure to ARAKODA® through breast milk. Check
infant’s G6PD status before breastfeeding begins.
Methemoglobinemia: Asymptomatic elevations in
blood methemoglobin have been observed. Initiate appropriate
therapy if signs or symptoms of methemoglobinemia occur.
Psychiatric Effects: Serious psychotic adverse
reactions have been observed in patients with a history of
psychosis or schizophrenia, at doses different from the approved
dose. If psychotic symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, or grossly
disorganized thinking or behavior) occur, consider discontinuation
of ARAKODA® therapy and evaluation by a mental health professional
as soon as possible.
Hypersensitivity Reactions: Serious
hypersensitivity reactions have been observed with administration
of ARAKODA®. If hypersensitivity reactions occur, institute
appropriate therapy.
Delayed Adverse Reactions: Due to the long
half-life of ARAKODA® (approximately 16 days), psychiatric effects,
hemolytic anemia, methemoglobinemia, and hypersensitivity reactions
may be delayed in onset and/or duration.
Adverse Reactions: The most common adverse
reactions (incidence greater than or equal to 1 percent) were:
headache, dizziness, back pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting,
increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT), motion sickness,
insomnia, depression, abnormal dreams, and anxiety.
Drug Interactions
Avoid co-administration with drugs that are substrates of
organic cation transporter-2 or multidrug and toxin extrusion
transporters.
Use in Specific Populations
Lactation: Advise women not to breastfeed a G6PD-deficient
infant or infant with unknown G6PD status during treatment and for
3 months after the last dose of ARAKODA®.
To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact 60 Degrees
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. at 1- 888-834-0225 or the FDA at
1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch. The full prescribing
information of ARAKODA® is located here.
About 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals, Inc.60
Degrees Pharmaceuticals, Inc., founded in 2010, specializes in
developing and marketing new medicines for the treatment and
prevention of infectious diseases that affect the lives of millions
of people. 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals, Inc. achieved FDA approval
of its lead product, ARAKODA® (tafenoquine), for
malaria prevention, in 2018. 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals, Inc. also
collaborates with prominent research organizations in the U.S.,
Australia, and Singapore. The 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
mission has been supported through in-kind funding from the U.S.
Department of Defense and private institutional investors including
Knight Therapeutics Inc., a Canadian-based pan-American specialty
pharmaceutical company. 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is
headquartered in Washington D.C., with a majority-owned subsidiary
in Australia. Learn more at www.60degreespharma.com.
The statements contained herein may include prospects,
statements of future expectations and other forward-looking
statements that are based on management’s current views and
assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties.
Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from
those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
StatementsThis press release may contain “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the
U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward‐looking statements reflect the current view about future
events. When used in this press release, the words “anticipate,”
“believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “future,” “intend,” “plan,” or the
negative of these terms and similar expressions, as they relate to
us or our management, identify forward‐looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor
assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on
our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions
regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies,
projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy, activities
of regulators and future regulations and other future conditions.
Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are
subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in
circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are
outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition
may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking
statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these
forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our
actual results and financial condition to differ materially from
those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among
others, the following: there is substantial doubt as to our ability
to continue on a going-concern basis; we might not be eligible for
Australian government research and development tax rebates; if we
are not able to successfully develop, obtain FDA approval for, and
provide for the commercialization of non- malaria prevention
indications for tafenoquine (ARAKODA® or other
regimen) or Celgosivir in a timely manner, we may not be able to
expand our business operations; we may not be able to successfully
conduct planned clinical trials or patient recruitment in our
trials might be slow or negligible; and we have no manufacturing
capacity which puts us at risk of lengthy and costly delays of
bringing our products to market. More detailed information
about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the
realization of forward- looking statements is set forth in the
Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (“SEC”), including the information contained in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 1, 2024, and
our subsequent SEC filings. Investors and security holders are
urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC’s website
at www.sec.gov. As a result of these matters, changes in
facts, assumptions not being realized or other circumstances, the
Company’s actual results may differ materially from the expected
results discussed in the forward-looking statements contained in
this press release. Any forward-looking statement made by us in
this press release is based only on information currently available
to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to
time, whether as a result of new information, future developments
or otherwise.
Media Contact:Sheila A.
BurkeSheilaBurke-consultant@60degreespharma.com(484) 667-6330
Investor Contact:Patrick
Gaynespatrickgaynes@60degreespharma.com(310) 989-5666
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