Teva Acquires Huntexil Development Program From NeuroSearch For $26M

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries TEVA announced today that it has concluded an Asset Transfer Agreement with NeuroSearch A/S of Denmark NEUR to purchase all rights, assets and obligations relating to Huntexil® (pridopidine / ACR16), a drug candidate being developed for the symptomatic treatment of hand movement, balance and gait disturbances in Huntington disease (HD). Under the agreement, Teva will pay to NeuroSearch approximately $26 million (DKK 150 million) over a period of at least six months. Regulatory and commercialization milestone payments may result in additional funding for NeuroSearch. Previous trials in the US, EU and Canada demonstrated significant symptomatic relief for patients with HD including improved hand movements and improved gait and balance. These results were observed without any side effects such as sedation and depression seen with other therapies such as neuroleptics and tetrabenazine. Teva believes that Huntexil® will, used as a symptomatic agent, make a real difference to the quality of life for patients suffering from HD. “Based on the clinical trial evidence to date, we believe Huntexil® holds promise for symptomatic relief for HD and merits additional study in late-stage clinical development,” commented Michael R. Hayden, M.D., Ph.D., one of the world's leading experts on Huntington disease and President of Global R&D and Chief Scientific Officer of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. “Teva has a broad commitment to find new approaches to managing devastating CNS diseases, such as Huntington disease. This promising development for Teva is just one example of our covenant with patients to develop medicines to improve their quality of life all around the world.”