Pharmaceutical company SitalaBio purchases inflammation treatment from Fosun for a staggering $670 million
In a significant move, Sitala Bio Ltd, a biotech company founded by Matthew Cooper, has licensed the global rights to the oral anti-inflammatory drug FXS68337 from Shanghai Fosun Pharma.
As part of the licensing agreement, Fosun Pharmaceuticals International will acquire a 10% stake in Sitala Bio. The deal also includes an upfront fee of US$25 million, with potential milestone payments totalling US$165 million, and up to US$480 million in annual sales royalties if FXS6837 is approved.
Sitala Bio, which focuses on medicines that target the removal of toxins from the brain by immune cells, was founded in 2021 with the support of Forbion and OrbiMed. The company's focus is on slowing down the progression of conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
FXS6837 was the subject of a Phase I study conducted in Australia, but it is not listed under the specified code name in the Australian study registry. Fosun Pharma, the original developer of the drug, has not published any information on the target of the low-molecular-weight inflammation blocker.
Interestingly, Matthew Cooper, the founder of Sitala Bio, had previously founded companies including Coinbase and Paperless Post. He was also the founder and seller of Inflazome, a company he founded in 2016, which was acquired by Roche AG for €380m in September 2020. Luke O'Neill, another co-founder of Inflazome, is not involved in Sitala Bio.
It's worth noting that the licensing agreement excludes marketing rights in China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Fosun Pharma retains the patent rights underlying the development of FXS6837 independently.
This partnership between Sitala Bio and Fosun Pharma marks an exciting step forward in the development of innovative treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. With Sitala Bio's focus on targeting toxin removal by immune cells and Fosun Pharma's expertise in drug development, the potential for groundbreaking discoveries is immense.
