Lundbeck signs CNS pact with Genmab

Another day and another alliance for Lundbeck as it has announced a link-up with fellow Danish firm Genmab to develop antibody therapeutics.

Under the terms of the agreement, Genmab will receive an upfront payment of 7.5 million euros, while Lundbeck will fully fund the development of the antibodies for disorders of the central nervous system. If all the milestones in the agreement are achieved, the deal will be worth around 38 million euros to the biotech, plus single-digit royalties.

Specifically Genmab will create novel human antibodies to three targets identified by Lundbeck, for CNS disorders, and has an option to take selected antibodies into clinical development for cancer indications at its own cost, subject to the payment of milestones and single-digit royalties to Lundbeck.

Peter Hongaard Andersen, head of research at Lundbeck, said Genmab’s broad antibody development expertise and his firm’s knowledge in CNS disorders “is an ideal combination for developing new treatments in this important therapeutic area”. He added that the new partnership “follows Lundbeck’s new R&D strategy to ensure we have the most efficient platform for the future discovery and development of drugs that will be able to help and treat biologically-defined groups of patients with brain diseases”.

Dr Andersen concluded by saying “it is this type of drugs we expect will be in demand in the future.” The Genmab pact comes a day after Lundbeck entered into a partnership to sell Merck & Co’s antipsychotic Sycrest (asenapine) in Europe and elsewhere and a couple of weeks after it signed an agreement with Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co of Japan focusing on Parkinson’s disease.