Johnson & Johnson (J&J) will be gaining exclusive rights to Kaken Pharmaceutical’s STAT6 programme for autoimmune and allergic diseases, including atopic dermatitis (AD).
The agreement gives J&J a global licence to develop, manufacture and commercialise the programme. This includes Kanken’s lead oral candidate KP-723, which is expected to enter phase 1 clinical development for AD this year.
Kaken will retain the commercialisation rights to the programme in Japan, where J&J will have an option to enter into a co-promotion agreement.
Though J&J did not disclose financial details of the deal, the company said that Kaken will be eligible to receive an equity investment separately from its venture capital organisation, J&J Innovation.
Also referred to as eczema, AD is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder affecting more than 9.6 million children and 16.5 million adults in the US.
The disease is characterised by an overactive immune system that causes damage to the skin barrier, leaving it dry, itchy and prone to rashes, and leading to an increased risk of skin infections.
STAT6 is a key nodal transcription factor that selectively mediates downstream signalling of interleukin-4 and interleukin-13, which have been shown to play a central role in type 2 inflammatory diseases.
“STAT6 represents a promising area of research, as it offers a potential for an effective and safe oral option for people struggling to manage AD and other autoimmune diseases,” explained David Lee, global immunology therapeutic area head, J&J Innovative Medicine
“To address the significant unmet need for people living with the highly heterogeneous diseases of AD and asthma, we must have multiple treatment candidates in our pipeline that target key pathways driving disease progression,” Lee said.
The agreement comes six months after J&J completed its $850m acquisition of Proteologix, giving it access to two investigational bi-specific antibodies in development for moderate-to-severe AD and asthma.
The company also completed its $1.25bn acquisition of Yellow Jersey, a demerged subsidiary of Numab Therapeutics, in July to secure the global rights for another investigational bi-specific antibody for AD.
