Vancouver, Canada - Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Novartis Pharma AG to research, develop and commercialize compounds from Xenon’s Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase-1 (SCD1) drug development program. Precommercial payments to Xenon under this transaction total up to US$157 million. Xenon will also receive royalties on products developed from this collaboration.
SCD1, a key regulatory enzyme in fatty acid metabolism, is a novel target for the treatment of obesity and its resulting metabolic consequences, including the metabolic syndrome. Xenon is focused on developing small molecule inhibitors of SCD1 and has advanced its program into preclinical development. This collaboration is being forged to pursue rapid validation of SCD1 as a relevant therapeutic target in patients using SCD1 inhibitor compounds.
Obesity, known to be a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus, already affects 300 million people worldwide while an estimated 194 million suffer from diabetes. In the US alone, more than 44 million Americans are already considered obese, an increase of 74 percent since 1991. During the same time frame, the prevalence of diabetes increased by 61 percent, with an estimated 17 million people currently suffering from the disease.
The SCD1 protein is a unique target for addressing this rapidly growing epidemic. “Inducing weight loss by increasing metabolic rate through lipid oxidation is a novel mechanism of action for treating obesity,” noted Simon Pimstone, Xenon’s President and CEO. “A successful product would represent a first-in-class drug for this very large market. This partnership will enable Xenon to realize the maximum potential value of its SCD1 program and support our goal of commercializing innovative medicines based on genetically-validated targets.”
“Novartis’ commitment to developing novel drugs to treat patients with metabolic disease was a major factor in choosing them as our partner of choice for this program,” added Michael Hayden, Xenon’s Chief Scientific Officer. “We look forward to working closely with the Novartis researchers as we continue to pursue a deeper understanding and better treatment of metabolic diseases, as well as to further test and develop our SCD1 inhibitors.”
“The SCD1 enzyme has shown promise as a key regulator of fatty acid metabolism and insulin action, and Xenon has made significant progress in advancing the novel SCD1 target into small molecule development,” said Thomas E. Hughes, Global Head of the Diabetes and Metabolism Disease Area at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. “Xenon’s SCD1 program complements our own portfolio of approaches in diabetes and other metabolic diseases and is fully aligned with Novartis’ goal of developing novel therapeutics addressing unmet medical needs”.
Under this agreement, Novartis has an exclusive royalty-bearing worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize products related to Xenon’s SCD1 program, with Xenon retaining an option to co-promote in certain territories. Novartis will also fund Xenon scientists for a minimum of two years as part of a collaborative research program and, subject to Xenon shareholder approval, will make an equity investment in Xenon.
About Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Xenon is a privately owned, clinical genetics-based drug discovery and development company engaged in developing small molecule therapies based on the genetic causes of select metabolic, neurological and cardiovascular diseases. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.xenon-pharma.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements that are not based on historical fact. These forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, events or developments to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
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