Kastle Therapeutics to acquire rights of Kynamro from Ionis Pharmaceuticals

As per the agreement, Ionis will receive up to $95m and will earn royalties on global sales of Kynamro starting in 2017. Ionis will also receive a 10% stake in Kastle’s parent company.

Kastle president Bryan Stuart said: "As Kastle’s first acquisition, Kynamro fits our strategy perfectly.

"With Kynamro, Kastle aims to bring an established rare disease therapy to more patients in the US and other regions through the pursuit of additional indications and regulatory approvals worldwide."

The Kynamro (mipomersen sodium) injection is an oligonucleotide inhibitor of apolipoprotein B-100 synthesis and has been approved in the US for use in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), a genetic disease characterized by extreme cholesterol levels.

Ionis Pharmaceutical chief business officer Sarah Boyce said: "We feel that Kastle’s management team brings expertise in marketing orphan drugs for rare diseases which, combined with its ability to be nimble and focused, has the potential to greatly enhance the KYNAMRO brand.

"Already Kastle has commenced initiatives to identify new patients to bring onto therapy in the United States and plans to pursue marketing approval in other countries."

According to Ionis Pharmaceuticals, the Kynamro has demonstrated consistent reductions in five randomized placebo controlled phase 3 clinical trials.

The Kynamro has been developed to reduce low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoprotein B (apoB), total cholesterol (TC) and non-high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (non-HDL-C) as an adjunct to lipid lowering medications and diet.

In addition to reducing LDL-C by preventing the formation of atherogenic lipoproteins, the injection acts by blocking the production of apo B, the protein that provides the structural core for these atherogenic particles, including LDL.