Servier Links Up With Celladon For Potential Diabetes Drugs

Servier inks its second deal in less than two weeks, this time for potential diabetes candidates. While both deals are early, they mark the French biotech’s foray into two hot fields of research.

French biotech Servier SA has been on a deal roll, inking two potential licensing deals in as many weeks. The most recent tie-up, announced Feb. 24, is with newly public Eiger BioPharmaceuticals Inc. for its small molecule technology in type 2 diabetes and metabolic disorders.

While terms of the deals were undisclosed, Celladon has the potential to earn milestones and royalties on any products that result from the collaboration. Servier has the option to license the programs after certain in vivo and in vitro tests have been conducted – likely in the first quarter of 2015. Should Servier opt in, the company will take over development, regulatory, and commercialization activities outside the U.S.

Celladon chief executive Krisztina Zsebo told “The Pink Sheet” DAILY that the company is particularly excited about leveraging Servier’s R&D expertise for its U.S. development. While Celladon will likely have to execute its own trials to satisfy regulatory requirements in the U.S. for any programs that result from the collaboration, the work Servier is handling “will significantly cut down on the cost,” she said.

The San Diego-based company is hoping to add to its pipeline through the collaboration with Servier, which Zsebo said “has been following Celladon’s small molecule progress for a while.” Celladon also is hoping to further expand its small molecule presence through similar deals in the neurodegenerative space.

Despite the recent focus on small molecules, the company has been riding the tide of the success of its lead candidate: a gene therapy that is entering late stage clinical trials for the treatment of heart failure. The drug, mydicar, uses an adeno-associated virus (AAV) to target the SERCA2a gene and jumpstart cardiovascular function. The pathway, previously thought “undrugable” says Zsebo, has been garnering attention for its wide variety of applications (Also see "The Unlikely Renaissance Of Gene Therapy" - Scrip, 13 Sep, 2012.).

The programs tied to the Servier collaboration also target the SERCA pathway, modulating the SERCA2b enzyme.

Celladon went public earlier this year, completing a $40 million IPO on Feb. 4, selling 5.5 million shares at $8 apiece. The offering price was well below the company’s initially targeted range of $14 to $16 per share that the company announced in November before tabling its IPO due to what it said were poor market conditions [See Deal].

Deal Spree

This is the second option deal for Servier of late. On Feb. 17, the company announced a deal with cell therapy company Cellectis SA. The pharma agreed to pay $10 million upfront and $840 million in potential milestones tied to the development, regulatory and commercial success of six potential products. The deal includes the development of UCART19, Cellectis’ lead product, a CD19-targeting compound that is in early stages and will focus on various types of leukemia and lymphoma, with Servier having the option to license the products and take over development after Phase I has been completed (Also see "Deals Of The Week: Novartis Places Bid To Dominate In Cancer" - Pink Sheet, 24 Feb, 2014.).

The technology will give Servier a hand in the hot space of cancer immunotherapy. Novartis AG is currently developing a chimeric antigen receptor technology (CART) drug for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia that also targets CD-19. The Swiss pharma licensed the technology from the University of Pennsylvania in August 2012 and has been investing heavily in the program since (Also see "Novartis/Penn To Research Chimeric Antigen Receptor Immunotherapies" - Pink Sheet, 6 Aug, 2012.).