Soticlestat

Neuroscience drug developer Lundbeck is expanding its scope to epilepsy via the $2.6 billion acquisition of Longboard Pharmaceuticals, a company whose lead asset is in late-stage clinical development for a rare, inherited seizure disorder that has few approved treatments. According to deal terms announced Monday, Lundbeck will pay $60 in cash for each Longboard share, representing a 54.2% premium to the biotech’s closing stock price on Friday and a 77% premium to the stock’s average price for the month of September. When La Jolla, California-based Longboard went public in 2021, it priced shares at $16 apiece. Longboard’s lead drug candidate, bexicaserin, is in development for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs), a group of disorders that include the rare epilepsies Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. The oral small molecule is an agonist of the 5-HT2C receptor, whose roles include regulating seizure severity. This receptor is already targeted by Fintepla, a UCB drug approved to treat seizures associated with Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut. But Fintepla’s label carries a black box warning for cardiovascular complications. Bexicaserin is designed to selectively target 5-HT2C without also hitting other receptors that can cause adverse effects. presented by Health IT Accelerating Claim Processing: Strategies to Shorten the Life of a Claim These strategies and practices can significantly shorten the life cycle of claims, leading to quicker resolutions and improved financial outcomes. By Greenway Health Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ cannabis-derived Epidiolex, approved for Dravet, Lennox-Gastaut, and tuberous sclerosis complex, has no black box warning. Some high-profile efforts in DEEs have encountered setbacks. In June, Takeda Pharmaceutical reported its drug candidate soticlestat failed separate placebo-controlled Phase 3 tests in Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut. Longboard had been making the case that bexicaserin can stand apart from other approaches to treat epilepsies. In January, the biotech reported Phase 1b/2a data showing a median 53.3% reduction in seizure frequency in patients with DEEs during the 75-day treatment period, results that had the company making claims of best-in-class potential. Shares of the biotech soared more than 300% after that data report. Bexicaserin’s efficacy results are holding up so far. According to a Lundbeck investor presentation, nine-month open-label data show a 57.7% reduction in countable motor seizures. In September, Longboard began a global Phase 3 test enrolling Dravet patients age 2 and older. This clinical trial is part of a broader program planned to evaluate the drug in about 480 patients who have a range of DEEs. The Longboard pipeline also includes LP659, a modulator of the S1P receptor that has potential applications in neuroinflammatory disorders. A Phase 1 single-ascending dose study has been completed but plans for a Phase 1 multiple-ascending dose study are subject to resolution of a partial clinical hold. Both bexicaserin and LP659 were licensed from Arena Pharmaceuticals. presented by Sponsored Post The Promise of Value-Based Care and MedTech Innovation Monica Vajani, Executive Director for mHUB’s MedTech Accelerator, discusses how mHUB is helping innovators transition healthcare towards value-based care. By Monica Vajani - mHUB Lundbeck focuses on neuroscience drugs. The Copenhagen-based company’s top-selling product is Rexulti, a schizophrenia and depression drug that last year expanded its approved uses to include agitation caused by Alzheimer’s disease. The product accounted for 4.5 billion Danish krone (about $661 million) in revenue last year, a 16% increase compared to the prior year, according to the company’s annual report. Within neuroscience, Lundbeck executives have identified rare neurological diseases as an opportunity for pipeline expansion. Lundbeck projects a fourth quarter 2028 launch for bexicaserin. The company estimates the drug could achieve peak sales of $1.5 billion to $2 billion. “This transformative transaction will become a cornerstone in Lundbeck’s neuro-rare franchise, with a potential to drive growth into the next decade,” Lundbeck President and CEO Charl van Zyl said in a prepared statement. “Bexicaserin addresses a critical unmet need for patients suffering from rare and severe epilepsies, for which there are very few good treatment options available.” The boards of directors of both Lundbeck and Longboard have approved the acquisition, which still needs the majority of Longboard’s outstanding voting shares to be tendered. The deal also must pass regulatory muster. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year. Image: Getty Images, Iaremenko

PREFACE 前言 股市，向来是一场惊险无比的资本游戏，一夜暴富的美梦和血本无归的幻灭，在确定性和不确定性中不断上演。 而对于专业性极强的创新药股票，每次暴涨或是暴跌，都是投资人对于公司管线估值的最新判断。 2024年初以来，因为临床研发失败而导致股价暴跌的biotech公司不在少数，甚至在同一天内有三家biotech公司同时遭重：5月6日，GlycoMimetics、Lyra Therapeutics、EyePoint Pharmaceuticals三家公司宣布旗下核心产品临床失利，股价应声暴跌，分别下跌了月83%，87%，43%。 这样的“股价”惨案，仍在不断上演。 01 两项临床3期研究失败 Ovid暴跌76% 癫痫是一种常见的发作性神经系统疾病，被世界卫生组织列为神经系统五大难治性疾病之一，也是神经系统疾病中仅次于脑血管疾病的第二大疾病。 根据WHO数据显示，全球大约有5000万癫痫患者，其中发病率最高的患者群体是儿童。而Lennox-Gastaut综合征（LGS）、Dravet综合征（DS）是两种发病于儿童早期，罕见、严重、难治的癫痫综合征，会造成癫痫相关的严重认知和发育障碍，存在巨大的未满足的临床需求。 2018年，FDA首次批准了GW Pharmaceuticals公司旗下的Epidiolex治疗年龄在2岁及以上的LGS和DS患者，面对一片蓝海，Epidiolex在2020年的销售额已经达到5亿美元。 面对蓝海和不菲的市场蛋糕，全球药企在LGS和DS治疗领域不断的投入资源。 2021年，武田以8.56亿美元的总价以及额外的销售额提成收购了Ovid Therapeutics，从而获得了后者在研管线——胆固醇24羟化酶（CH24H）抑制剂soticlestat的全球开发和商业化权益，彼时这款药物已经在改善DS和LGS患者的癫痫发作上展现出了不菲的潜力。 Soticlestat在成为epidiolex的有力竞争者的同时，也非常契合武田全球长期增长战略规划，因而武田也是在全球范围内大力推进soticlestat的临床研究。 但新药研发，总是九死一生，尤其是对于CNS疾病来说，更是难上加难，临床后期试验无法延续此前治疗效果的案例比比皆是。 当地时间6月17日，武田公布了soticlestat治疗DS和LGS患者的两项临床3期试验SKYLINE研究和SKYWAY研究初步结果。 SKYLINE研究结果显示，soticlestat组治疗DS患者并未达到主要终点；SKYWAY研究结果显示，soticlestat组治疗LGS患者未能达到减少运动跌倒发作的主要终点 两项3期临床失败，已经基本上宣告了soticlestat的失败，也同时宣告着对Ovid Therapeutics公司身价起主要支撑作用的后续巨额里程碑付款与销售额提成化为了乌有。 因而美股投资人也是“毫不留情”，Ovid Therapeutics股价当天大跌76%，市值仅剩5600万美元。 Soticlestat的失败为CH24H靶点蒙上了阴影，也给Ovid公司带来了致命的打击。但面对DS和LGS患者发作负担和治疗耐药等多个方面仍未满足的临床需求，仍需各方投入资源探索新药物。 02 “难啃”的癫痫 流水的biotech 血脑屏障的阻碍，致病机理不明确，缺乏有效的疾病模型等等原因，让CNS新药的开发困难重重。 癫痫作为CNS疾病之一，亦是如此。据不完全统计，在抗癫痫新药的开发上，今年以来已有至少三家公司折戟临床，并且股市给出的结果都是：暴跌。 除上文提到的Ovid Therapeutics外，另外两家公司为Marius Pharmaceuticals和Addex Therapeutics。 Marius Pharmaceuticals 当地时间2024年4月15日，Marius宣布旗下ganaxolone治疗难治性癫痫持续状态（refractory status epilepticus，RSE）的临床3期试验RAISE研究的中期分析没有达到预设的终止标准，Marius股价当天大跌近83%。 但在公布中期分析结果的同时，Marius还给投资者们留了一些希望，即独立数据监测委员会建议继续开展试验，等待顶线结果再决定是否继续开发ganaxolone。 Ganaxolone是一款GABAA受体正变构调节注射剂，口服混悬制剂ZTALMY于2022年3月18日获FDA批准用于2岁及以上细胞周期蛋白依赖性激酶样5（CDKL5）缺乏导致的癫痫患者。 根据Marius最新季报显示，ZTALMY在2024年第一季度的销售额在740-760万美元之间，截至第一季度末，Marius在手的现金及现金等价物约为1.133亿美元，今年支撑公司运营至2024年年末。 随着核心管线研发失利，现金流喊急，Marius也不得不寻求裁员自保，5月8日，Marius宣布裁员20%，以求延长现金流。 Addex Therapeutics 当地时间2024年4月29日，Addex宣布旗下ADX71149治疗左乙拉西坦（levetiracetam）或布立西坦（brivaracetam）反应不良的局灶性癫痫发作患者的临床2期研究没有达到主要终点。 ADX71149是一款选择性代谢型谷氨酸2型（mGlu2）受体正变构调节剂，此前杨森制药公司以1.09亿欧元的总金额以及两位数的销售额分成引进了该药物。 受此消息影响，Addex美股股票当天大跌53%，截至目前最新的市值仅为854万美元。 在一个季度内，三家开发抗癫痫新药的biotech在核心管线临床开发失利后，股价暴跌，将CNS新药研发之难体现的淋漓尽致，但不可否认的是CNS疾病患病人群众多，市场需求巨大，也将继续催生更多新靶点、新机制药物的出现。 声明：发表/转载本文仅仅是出于传播信息的需要，并不意味着代表本公众号观点或证实其内容的真实性。据此内容作出的任何判断，后果自负。若有侵权，告知必删！ 长按关注本公众号  粉丝群/投稿/授权/广告等 请联系公众号助手 觉得本文好看，请点这里↓