After Medivation released its excellent phase IIb results at the Alzheimer’s conference in July, we all knew it was just a matter of time before they partnered the 30+ year old, Russian marketed anti-histamine for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease.
That time has come.
Terms:
- $225M up-front
- $500M in milestones
- 60/40 Pfizer/Medivation development cost sharing
- 40% US sales royalty to Medivation
- Medivation will also promote Dimebon to specialty physicians
- Pfizer will have responsibility for development, regulatory and commercialization outside the U.S. and will pay Medivation tiered royalties on commercial sales outside of the U.S.
Pretty rich up-front (but not unheard of for phenomenal phase IIb results. Otherwise, it is a nice deal for both sides. Pfizer (with Eisai) already markets the 800lb gorilla, Aricept, and I’m sure eventually Dimebon will figure prominently in a nice line extension for donepezil.
About Dimebon
Dimebon is an orally-available, small molecule that has been shown to inhibit brain cell death in preclinical models relevant to Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease, making it a potential treatment for these and other neurodegenerative conditions.
While Dimebon has activity (see below) at two relevant and validated targets for AD (AChE and NMDA) but interestingly, these aren’t postulated to be the reason for its efficacy in neurodegenerative diseases, rather, Dimebon is thought to work by blocking mitochondrial pores.
5-HT6: ~70 nM
H1: <50 nM
AChE: ~40 uM
NMDA: ~40 uM
L-type Ca channel: ~6 uM
The rationale goes something like this: proteins found in the brains of AD patients (beta-amyloid / APP) are toxic to neurons and specifically, cause the opening of mitochondrial pores and eventually, neuronal death. By blocking these pores, Dimebon keeps the mitochondrial function around normal and thus, prevents cognitive decline.
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Eben is a highly caffeinated business development associate at a small, cash sensitive pharmaceutical company somewhere in Massachusetts. He enjoys cliche-less banter, compartmentalization, non-equilibrium thermodynamics and NPV analysis. Agree or disagree with what he's posted? He encourages comments.
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