Immunic Exercises Option to License Daiichi’s IMU-856

Immunic, Inc.’s subsidiary, Immunic AG, has exercised its exclusive global option to license a group of compounds, designated as IMU-856, under the terms of its existing option and license agreement with Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.
 
IMU-856 is an orally available, small molecule modulator that targets an undisclosed protein which serves as a transcriptional regulator of the intestinal barrier function, and represents a new and potentially disruptive approach for the treatment of intestinal diseases with the potential to restore the intestinal barrier function while maintaining immunocompetency. The company plans to begin Phase I studies for this program in 1H20.
 
IMU-856 was discovered and developed by Daiichi Sankyo. The option and license agreement gives Immunic the exclusive rights to commercialization of IMU-856 in all countries. The option also includes exclusivity on a patent application filed by Daiichi Sankyo, covering IMU-856’s composition of matter. Concurrent with the option exercise, Immunic will pay to Daiichi Sankyo a one-time upfront licensing fee. Daiichi is also eligible to receive certain future development, approval and sales milestone payments, as well as royalties related to IMU-856. Financial terms were not disclosed.
 
“Exercising this option is an important milestone, as it indicates that we are convinced of the preclinical safety profile of IMU-856 and are ready to take this program into phase 1 clinical trials, which we intend to initiate during the first half of 2020,” said Daniel Vitt, Ph.D., chief executive officer and president of Immunic. “Our recently presented preclinical data reinforced our belief that IMU-856 has disease-modifying properties for a variety of intestinal diseases and demonstrates potential significant advantages over current immunosuppressive treatments which address inflammation while unintentionally decreasing the body’s immune surveillance.”
 
“We are delighted that Immunic executed the option right for IMU-856,” said Junichi Koga, senior executive officer and global head of R&D, Daiichi Sankyo. “Daiichi Sankyo is committed to delivering innovative medicines to patients across the world as quickly as possible, either by ourselves or through strategic partnerships. We are confident that Immunic is our best partner and will rapidly drive the development of this novel compound for patients with intestinal diseases.”