Viatris And Idorsia Forge Global Partnership For Breakthrough Heart Attack Treatments

On Wednesday, Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ:VTRS) said it has inked a pact with Idorsia for a significant global research and development collaboration.

This partnership involves selatogrel, an innovative self-administered treatment for individuals with a background of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), also known as a heart attack. 

Under the deal, Viatris will receive exclusive global development and commercialization rights to two Phase 3 assets and additional innovative assets in the future.

It leverages Viatris’ worldwide cardiovascular portfolio, along with its distribution prowess in self-administered therapies for critical acute conditions.

The partnership additionally encompasses cenerimod, an immunology asset with the potential to become a pioneering oral treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the predominant variant of lupus.

Idorsia will receive an upfront payment of $350 million, potential development and regulatory milestone payments, additional sales milestone payments and tiered royalties on annual net sales.

The agreements also provide Viatris a right of first refusal and a right of first negotiation for certain other assets in Idorsia’s pipeline. 

“In addition to continuing to develop the three core therapeutic areas that we identified—ophthalmology, dermatology and GI—we are also going to be opportunistic in seeking out assets that we believe fit our company well and have the potential to contribute significantly to our future revenue growth,” said Viatris CEO Scott A. Smith .

“This global collaboration allows us to share the costs of the ongoing Phase 3 programs whilst retaining long-term shareholder value, by sharing the rewards for success through the milestones and royalties,” Idorsia CEO Jean-Paul Clozel, MD, said.

Viatris and Idorsia will both contribute to the development costs for both programs. The transaction is expected to close at the end of March.

Price Action: VTRS shares closed lower by 1.49% to $13.23 on Tuesday. 

Photo: Darko Stojanovic from Pixabay