Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENTA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to creating small molecule drugs for viral infections, today announced the sale to OMERS, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans, of 54.5% of Enanta’s future royalty payments from AbbVie Inc. on worldwide sales of MAVYRET®/MAVIRET®. The purchase price paid to Enanta was $200 million. OMERS right to receive royalty payments is based on net sales of the product beginning in July 2023 through June 2032, with total payments capped at 1.42 times the purchase price. Enanta retains 45.5% of all royalties until the cap is hit, at which point 100% of all further royalties revert to Enanta.
“As we execute on our programs, these funds enable us to continue to advance our robust pipeline of treatments for life-threatening viruses.”
“We are pleased to partner with OMERS and its Life Sciences team to secure additional non-dilutive funding, which not only provides us with increased financial flexibility and retained economics, but also demonstrates the continued value of MAVYRET®/MAVIRET® and its significance for patients who continue to benefit from this therapy,” said Jay R. Luly, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Enanta Pharmaceuticals. “As we execute on our programs, these funds enable us to continue to advance our robust pipeline of treatments for life-threatening viruses.”
“Enanta is a leader in small molecule drug discovery as evidenced by the successful development and commercialization of MAVYRET®/MAVIRET® in collaboration with AbbVie,” said Rob Missere, Managing Director & Head of OMERS Life Sciences. “We are pleased to invest in future sales of MAVYRET®/MAVIRET®, an important cure for chronic hepatitis C virus infection. This deal furthers our mandate to deliver an attractive source of long-term returns for our more than 560,000 members.”
MAVYRET®/MAVIRET® is a fixed-dose combination of glecaprevir, an NS3/4A protease inhibitor, and pibrentasvir, an NS5A inhibitor, indicated for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Glecaprevir was discovered by Enanta under a collaboration between AbbVie and Enanta to discover and develop protease inhibitor treatments for chronic HCV infection. MAVYRET®/MAVIRET® was launched globally beginning in 2017.
Advisors
Foley Hoag LLP acted as legal advisor, and Elmore Patent Law Group, PC acted as patent counsel, to Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP acted as legal advisor, and Ballard Spahr LLP acted as patent counsel, to OMERS.
About Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Enanta is using its robust, chemistry-driven approach and drug discovery capabilities to become a leader in the discovery and development of small molecule drugs for the treatment of viral infections. Enanta’s research and development programs include clinical candidates for the following disease targets: respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and hepatitis B virus (HBV). Enanta is also conducting research on a single agent targeting both RSV and human metapneumovirus (hMPV).
Glecaprevir, a protease inhibitor discovered by Enanta, is part of one of the leading treatment regimens for curing chronic HCV infection and is sold by AbbVie in numerous countries under the tradenames MAVYRET® (U.S.) and MAVIRET® (ex-U.S.) (glecaprevir/pibrentasvir)
Source: https://www.businesswire.com/
