Marinus Pharma Shares Up After Deal for Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher

By Michael Dabaie

Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares were higher premarket Thursday after the pharmaceutical company agreed to sell its Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher for $110 million, a move the company said will strengthen its financial position.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Marinus said it was selling the voucher to Novo Nordisk Inc.

Its shares rose 4.9% to $5.82 premarket.

The company received the voucher in March 2022 under a U.S. Food and Drug Administration program to encourage the development of treatments for rare pediatric diseases. Marinus was awarded the voucher when it received approval of Ztalmy oral suspension CV for the treatment of seizures associated with CDKL5 deficiency disorder, a rare form of genetic epilepsy, in patients two years of age and older.

"Upon completion, the sale of the PRV will significantly strengthen Marinus' financial position, which we believe extends our cash runway into the fourth quarter of 2023" and allow the company to maintain momentum advancing its pipeline, including the two Phase 3 trials in status epilepticus and tuberous sclerosis complex, and focus on the commercial launch of Ztalmy, Marinus Chief Financial Officer Steven Pfanstiel said.

Under the FDA program, a voucher is issued to the sponsor of a rare pediatric disease product application and entitles the holder to priority review of a single new drug application or biologics license application. The sponsor can choose to sell or transfer the voucher upon approval of the rare pediatric disease product application.

Write to Michael Dabaie at michael.dabaie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 14, 2022 08:08 ET (12:08 GMT)

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