Quince Therapeutics Completes the Sale of Legacy Protease Inhibitor Portfolio to Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals
January 27 2023 - 08:00AM
Business Wire
Quince Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: QNCX), a biopharmaceutical
company advancing innovative precision therapeutics targeting
debilitating and rare diseases, announced the sale of the company’s
legacy small molecule protease inhibitor portfolio, including
COR588, COR388, COR852, and COR803, pursuant to an asset purchase
agreement with Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an entity
co-founded by Casey Lynch, former chief executive officer of
Quince’s predecessor company Cortexyme.
Lead compound COR588 is a selective, oral small molecule
inhibitor of lysine-gingipain that is Phase 2 ready for further
evaluation in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease with mild to
moderate dementia and biomarker evidence of P. gingivalis
infection. Precision targeting of gingipains with small molecule
inhibitors represents an innovative therapeutic approach to
addressing P. gingivalis, a bacterium associated with dementia and
other degenerative and inflammatory disorders.
“This transaction represents the fulfillment of our previously
stated objective to out-license Quince’s legacy protease inhibitor
portfolio,” said Dirk Thye, M.D., Quince’s chief executive officer.
“We are pleased to transfer these programs to Lighthouse as they
have a tremendous amount of expertise, experience, and historical
knowledge of the compounds and therapeutic area. Given the role of
Lighthouse’s principals in advancing the foundational science and
clinical development related to these assets, we believe they are
in a strong position to build upon the existing human and
preclinical data to advance these compounds.”
“This acquisition enables the important continued development of
gingipain inhibitors for dementia and other disorders,” said Casey
Lynch, Lighthouse Pharmaceutical’s chief executive officer.
“Informed by the learnings from previous late-stage clinical
studies, Lighthouse will move quickly to advance COR588 into key
clinical studies to further validate this treatment paradigm and
bring innovative treatments to patients.”
Highlights of the asset purchase agreement include:
- Lighthouse gains exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and
commercialize Quince’s legacy protease inhibitor portfolio
globally;
- Protease inhibitor portfolio includes lysine- and
arginine-gingipain inhibitors COR588, COR388, COR852, in addition
to COR803, which is a coronavirus 3CLpro targeted program with
demonstrated in vivo efficacy;
- Potential for Quince to receive up to $150 million in
regulatory and commercial milestones payments on a
product-by-product basis, subject to conditions in the
agreement;
- Potential tiered royalty rates on a product-by-product basis
ranging from high single-digit to mid-teens of annual net sales
related to the two existing clinical stage programs, and low
single-digit royalties for the preclinical programs, subject to
conditions in the agreement;
- Share of sublicense income or acquisition value of clinical and
preclinical assets on a product-by-product basis; and
- Quince to receive a 7.5% ownership stake of Lighthouse Common
stock with anti-dilution through the first $10 million raised.
Quince expects to benefit from the reduction of more than
$500,000 of annualized expenses associated with the operational and
financial support of these protease inhibitor assets.
About Quince Therapeutics
Quince Therapeutics is focused on advancing innovative precision
therapeutics targeting debilitating and rare diseases. The company
discovered a broad bone-targeting drug platform designed to
precisely deliver small molecules, peptides, or large molecules
directly to the site of bone fracture and disease to promote more
rapid healing with fewer off-target safety concerns compared to
non-targeted therapeutics. Quince’s discovery pipeline is
positioned for rapid expansion across multiple skeletal therapeutic
indications to address underserved therapeutic areas with major,
unmet medical needs, including osteogenesis imperfecta, fractures,
spinal fusion, and other severe bone diseases. The company's lead
compound NOV004 is an anabolic peptide engineered to precisely
target and concentrate at the bone fracture site, which preclinical
studies demonstrate result in rapid increases in bone density,
strength, and healing directly at the site of bone fracture. For
more information, visit www.quincetx.com and follow Quince
Therapeutics on LinkedIn and @Quince_Tx on Twitter.
About Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals
Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage private
biopharmaceutical company pioneering precision medicine approaches
to major unmet medical needs based on expertise in small molecule
protease inhibition. Lighthouse’s lead program, LHP588, beginning
Phase 2 clinical studies, targets a specific, infectious pathogen,
Porphyromonas gingivalis, which is associated with chronic
degenerative and inflammatory disorders including dementia,
periodontal disease, atherosclerosis, and orodigestive cancers. For
more information, visit www.lighthousepharma.com.
Forward-looking Statements
Statements in this news release contain “forward-looking
statements” that are subject to substantial risks and
uncertainties. Forward-looking statements contained in this news
release may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,”
“expect,” “will,” “can,” “may,” “should,” “estimate,” “project,”
“potential,” “encouraged,” “positioned,” or other similar words.
Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, the
potential to realize expense reductions, and to receive royalties,
sublicense license, acquisition value, milestone and other
payments, if any, associated with the transaction with Lighthouse;
clinical development and strategic development path and related
timing for NOV004; the company’s plans to pursue the strategic
expansion of its development pipeline; the timing and success of
the company’s clinical trials and related data, including plans and
the ability to initiate, conduct and/or complete the Phase 1
clinical studies for NOV004 and advance to a lead indication; and
the timing of announcements and updates relating to its clinical
trials and related data; the potential therapeutic benefits,
safety, and efficacy of the company’s product candidate and
discovery pipeline. Forward-looking statements are based on Quince
Therapeutic’s current expectations and are subject to inherent
uncertainties, risks, and assumptions that are difficult to predict
and could cause actual results to differ materially from what the
company expects. Further, certain forward-looking statements are
based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be
accurate. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties
described in the section titled “Risk Factors” in the company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) on March 1, 2022, its Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q filed with the SEC on November 9, 2022, and other reports as
filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements contained in this
news release are made as of this date, and Quince Therapeutics
undertakes no duty to update such information except as required
under applicable law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230127005086/en/
Media and Investor Contacts:
Stacy Roughan Quince Therapeutics, Inc. Vice President,
Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
ir@quincetx.com
Casey Lynch Chief Executive Officer Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. info@lighthousepharma.com
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