OPKO Health Licenses Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Platform to CAMP4 Therapeutics
July 12 2021 - 8:00AM
OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPK) today announced it
has entered into an exclusive worldwide agreement with privately
held CAMP4 Therapeutics Corporation (CAMP4) for the development,
manufacture and commercialization of therapeutics utilizing the
AntagoNAT technology, an oligonucleotide platform developed under
OPKO CURNA. AntagoNATs are oligonucleotide compounds that target
non-coding natural antisense transcripts leading to an upregulation
of a desired functional protein. CAMP4 has prioritized OPKO’s lead
AntagoNAT compound to progress into clinical trials for the
treatment of Dravet syndrome.
Under the terms of the agreement, OPKO will
receive an upfront payment and shares of CAMP4. In addition, OPKO
will be eligible to receive up to $93.5 million and additional
shares upon the achievement of certain development and sales
milestones for products developed from this technology and
associated intellectual property. CAMP4 will also pay OPKO
double-digit royalties on product sales.
“We are delighted to enter into this licensing
agreement to accelerate the development and commercialization of
potential disease-modifying therapeutics. With a clear focus on
therapeutics that restore healthy gene expression, CAMP4 has the
expertise to advance our Dravet syndrome compound through the
necessary patient trials. This agreement validates our technology
and allows OPKO to focus resources on other areas of our business.
We continue to seek license opportunities to monetize and leverage
our early-stage assets,” said Phillip Frost, M.D., Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of OPKO.
According to the Epilepsy Foundation, Dravet
syndrome is a rare, drug-resistant epilepsy that begins in the
first year of life in an otherwise healthy infant. It is estimated
that 1-in-20,000 to 1-in-40,000 individuals have Dravet syndrome.
Most cases are due to SCN1A gene mutations and most children
develop varying degrees of neurodevelopmental
disability.
CAMP4 is pioneering a novel approach to
programmable therapeutics that combines a deep understanding of
regulatory RNA and gene expression with a complementary and
customizable oligonucleotide modality. The company’s RNA Actuating
Platform’s proprietary insights enable drug discovery and
development that aims to harness the power of RNA to upregulate the
expression of genes and unlock the potential to create treatments
for hundreds of diseases affecting millions of patients.
About OPKO Health
OPKO is a multinational biopharmaceutical and
diagnostics company that seeks to establish industry-leading
positions in large, rapidly growing markets by leveraging its
discovery, development, and commercialization expertise and novel
and proprietary technologies. For more information, visit
www.opko.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward
Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking
statements," as that term is defined under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA), which statements may be
identified by words such as "expects," "plans," "projects," "will,"
"may," "anticipates," "believes," "should," "intends," "estimates,"
and other words of similar meaning, including statements regarding
product development efforts as well as other non-historical
statements about our expectations, products, beliefs or intentions
regarding our business, financial condition, strategies or
prospects including statements regarding expectations about the
success of the collaboration and licensing agreement with CAMP4,
whether CAMP4 will successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval
for, launch or commercialize any product using Dravet or non-Dravet
technology that is part of the CURNA platform, whether payment
milestones and royalty obligations will ever be triggered, and the
expected market for the licensed products. Many factors could cause
our actual activities or results to differ materially from the
activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements.
These factors include those described in our Annual Reports on Form
10-K filed and to be filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and under the heading “Risk Factors” in our other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as
risks inherent in funding, developing and obtaining regulatory
approvals of new, commercially-viable products and treatments. In
addition, forward-looking statements may also be adversely affected
by general market factors, competitive product development, product
availability, federal and state regulations and legislation, the
regulatory process for new products and indications, manufacturing
issues that may arise, patent positions and litigation, among other
factors. The forward-looking statements contained in this press
release speak only as of the date the statements were made, and we
do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking
statements. We intend that all forward-looking statements be
subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the PSLRA.
Contacts:
LHA Investor RelationsYvonne
Briggs, 310-691-7100ybriggs@lhai.com orBruce Voss, 310-691-7100
bvoss@lhai.com
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