Perseid Reaches Preclinical Milestone In Astellas Collaboration

The co-development and commercialisation agreement between Perseid and Astellas was originally entered into by Maxygen and Astellas in September 2008, and assigned to Perseid in September 2009, in connection with Maxygen’s joint venture arrangement with Astellas.

As per the co-development and commercialisation agreement, Perseid and Astellas are co-developing CTLA4-Ig candidates for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, and Astellas is exclusively developing CTLA4-Ig candidates for transplant rejection.

Additionally, Perseid has an option to co-promote any autoimmune therapeutic products developed under the alliance in North America. Regardless of indication, Astellas will manufacture the finished product using active drug substance provided by Perseid and market and sell such product globally.

Under the agreement, Perseid remains eligible for additional milestone payments and is also eligible to receive tiered double-digit royalties on all sales. If Perseid exercises its option to co-promote, revenues from any such therapeutic product will be subject to a profit-sharing arrangement between the parties instead of royalty payments.

Reportedly, the companies share preclinical and development costs for autoimmune disease indications in North America and European countries. Astellas is solely responsible for development costs for autoimmune disease indications in the rest of the world and for transplant rejection indication worldwide.

Grant Yonehiro, CEO of Perseid, said: “This milestone represents important progress in our CTLA-4 program. It exemplifies the outstanding work that has been accomplished by the Perseid-Astellas team. We are pleased to have such a strong collaboration with such an exceptional global partner.”