BELLUS Health Inc. (TSX: BLU) has entered into an agreement to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc., including all the rights to the drug candidate Shigamab, Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc. for up to $2.7 million, consisting of an upfront payment of $2.3 million and an earnout payment of up to $0.4 million.
“This transaction supports the further development of Shigamab and allows us to focus our efforts on the rest of our pipeline including the recently in-licensed BLU-5937, a drug candidate for chronic cough,” said Roberto Bellini, President & CEO of BELLUS Health. “The upfront proceeds from this transaction also meaningfully extend our cash runway to Q4 2018.”
In August 2013, BELLUS Health Inc. acquired Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (formerly TSX-V: TLN) for a purchase price of $6.266 million, and the issuance of one contingent value right (CVR) per common share.
In accordance with the terms of the agreements of the 2013 Thallion acquisition, 5% of the proceeds received by BELLUS Health from the sale of Thallion, including the Shigamab technology, is payable to Contingent Value Rights (CVR) holders.
BELLUS Health is a biopharmaceutical development company advancing novel therapeutics for conditions with high unmet medical need. Its pipeline of projects includes BLU-5937 for chronic cough and KIACTA for sarcoidosis. BELLUS Health also has economic interests in several other partnered drug development projects.
Established in 1950, Israel based Taro develops, manufactures and markets affordable prescription and over-the counter medications.
photo credit: Taro