BMS Picks Up KAI-9803
A little over a month after Daiichi Sankyo (post-merger) ditched their license for KAI-9803, Bristol-Myers Squibb agreed to a partnership agreement with similar terms. Originally, KAI received $20 million upfront from Sankyo, as well as potential milestone payments of up to $300 million for two initial indications and milestone payments on any future delta PKC inhibitors developed.
Under the terms of the new BMS collaboration, KAI will receive an upfront cash payment of $25 million. BMS will fund all future development, including the Phase 2b clinical trial to be conducted by KAI. In addition, at KAI’s option, Bristol-Myers Squibb will purchase $10 million of KAI stock at the time of a qualified initial public offering, or under other specified future conditions. KAI may receive up to $192 million in milestone payments. KAI could be eligible for additional milestones if other compounds are developed. KAI will have an option to co-promote KAI-9803 in the United States and will receive royalty payments on product net sales worldwide.
KAI-9803 is an inhibitor of delta protein kinase C and is designed to dampen the size of a heart attack and improve clinical outcomes during treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). During a heart attack, blood flow to the heart is compromised resulting in myocardial and endothelial cell necrosis and apoptosis. Selective inhibition of the delta PKC isozyme by KAI-9803 may reduce the injury to myocardial and endothelial cells during a heart attack and reduce the risk of death or heart failure. KAI-9803 has received Fast Track designation from the FDA.
Usually, agreements take more than a month to announce. BMS must think KAI has something special here, though as a rule, intracardiac injections scare me.
