MOLOGEN AG
MOLOGEN AG to retain rights to lefitolimod – termination of negotiations with ONCOLOGIE Inc. and assessment of all strategic options in the light of a likely read-out of the pivotal phase III IMPALA trial in 2019
DGAP-News: MOLOGEN AG / Key word(s): Agreement PRESS RELEASE N 27 / 2018 of 11/16/2018 MOLOGEN AG to retain rights to lefitolimod – termination of negotiations with ONCOLOGIE Inc. and assessment of all strategic options in the light of a likely read-out of the pivotal phase III IMPALA trial in 2019
– Three-month exclusivity period for negotiations with ONCOLOGIE on the global assignment of lefitolimod expired without agreement – During the exclusivity period ONCOLOGIE presented new financial terms for the transaction that were vastly inferior to those agreed in the non-binding term sheet signed by the two companies on August 15th, 2018; MOLOGEN assessed the new terms as being unjustified and therefore rejected them – Earlier than expected availability of top-line data from the IMPALA study opens new strategic options for the monetization of lefitolimod – License agreement with ONCOLOGIE for Greater China remains valid Berlin, November 16th, 2018 – The biopharmaceutical company MOLOGEN AG announced that the three-month exclusivity period for further negotiations with the US biopharmaceutical company ONCOLOGIE regarding a global assignment of all intellectual property and other rights in MOLOGEN’s lead molecule, lefitolimod, has expired on November 15th, 2018. A non-binding term sheet on the global assignment was signed between the two companies on August 15th, 2018. The negotiations with ONCOLOGIE did not result in a mutually satisfying conclusion within the set time frame and were therefore terminated. Particularly with regard to the fact that the top-line data from the pivotal phase III IMPALA study are now expected to be available earlier than initially predicted – this could be as early as summer 2019 – MOLOGEN has decided not to prolong the exclusivity period for the negotiations with ONCOLOGIE and to assess all potential strategic options. These include the re-opening of discussions with other parties that in the past have shown interest in lefitolimod as well as continuing the development of lefitolimod on its own. “As lefitolimod is MOLOGEN’s most valuable asset, we strive to realize its full potential and value. Unfortunately, during the exclusivity period our partner ONCOLOGIE presented us with new terms for the transaction that were much inferior to those previously negotiated. After extensive discussions between the management teams of the two companies, and an internal assessment of the new proposed terms, MOLOGEN decided to not pursue this potential transaction. In these three months we have also learnt that the read-out from IMPALA may come much earlier than expected. We have therefore decided to not execute a corporate transaction with ONCOLOGIE at this point and to retain the rights to the asset. By doing so, we are keeping the potential upside of the product for the Company and upon availability of top-line data from IMPALA we will launch a campaign to out-license or sell lefitolimod,” said Dr Ignacio Faus, CEO of MOLOGEN AG. In February 2018 MOLOGEN signed a license agreement for its lead compound lefitolimod with ONCOLOGIE Inc. This contract covers the development, manufacturing and commercialization of lefitolimod in the markets of China including Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Singapore as well as a potential global development cooperation. This license agreement with ONCOLOGIE remains valid and MOLOGEN will collaborate with the partner in order to ensure the success of lefitolimod in China. In addition both parties are exploring the possibility of executing the global co-development agreement that is contemplated in the current Greater China license contract. In particular MOLOGEN and ONCOLOGIE have entered into discussions to jointly develop combination products that contain lefitolimod and a checkpoint inhibitor. So far, MOLOGEN has received overall payments of EUR5 million as part of the cooperation with ONCOLOGIE. The focus of the development work is on the product family of DNA-based TLR9 agonists. This includes the lead compound lefitolimod and the next-generation molecule family EnanDIM(R). MOLOGEN’s pipeline focus is on new innovative immunotherapies to treat diseases for which there is a great medical demand in particular. MOLOGEN AG is a publicly listed Company, headquartered in Berlin. The shares (ISIN, DE000A2LQ900/SIN: A2L Q90) are listed in the Prime Standard of the German Stock Exchange. Contact
16.11.2018 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG. |
Language: | English |
Company: | MOLOGEN AG |
Fabeckstraße 30 | |
14195 Berlin | |
Germany | |
Phone: | 030 / 841788-0 |
Fax: | 030 / 841788-50 |
E-mail: | presse@mologen.com |
Internet: | www.mologen.com |
ISIN: | DE000A2LQ900 |
WKN: | A2LQ90 |
Listed: | Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange |
End of News | DGAP News Service |