GSK is paying $80 million to ink a multi-target neurodegenerative pact with Flagship-founded Vesalius Therapeutics that includes a preclinical small molecule initially targeting Parkinson’s disease.
The British Big Pharma will take on responsibility for Vesalius’ small molecule, with the option to move forward Vesalius-identified intervention point programs in Parkinson’s and another unnamed neurodegenerative condition, according to a Nov. 12 release. GSK will retain rights over all development and commercial activities.
In return, Vesalius will receive $80 million in upfront and equity payments and has the chance to make up to $570 million in potential milestones for the preclinical small molecule program, plus royalties.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech could also bring in additional biobucks and royalties tied to each new intervention point resulting from the deal. The partners did not disclose the potential total value of the entire pact.
Vesalius uses its platform, which combines large-scale human genetics, genomics, induced pluripotent stem cell models and artificial intelligence, in efforts to discover possible intervention points for new therapies.
“Many of the diseases that impact patients globally have a single diagnosis, when in fact they comprise multiple different diseases, each with distinct biological causes,” John Mendlein, Ph.D., Vesalius’ interim CEO and executive chair as well as an executive partner for Flagship Pioneering, said in the company release. “Vesalius redefines how we think about and treat common illnesses including autoimmune disorders, diabetes and neurologic diseases, including but not limited to Parkinson’s disease.”
“Parkinson’s disease has tremendous unmet need, and the number of new intervention points has changed very little in sixty years for patients and their families, since the first L-dopa drugs,” Mendlein said. “Central to our alliance with GSK is our shared conviction that targeting the causal factors of common diseases like Parkinson’s disease is the key to developing breakthrough medicines faster and with a higher probability of success.”
Vesalius publicly emerged in early 2022 with $75 million and a “radical new approach to common drug disease,” according to the company. Founded in 2019 by Flagship Pioneering, the biotech believes its method can help treat diseases that drive 90% of human illnesses.