Biotech: Ose immunotherapeutics signs worldwide licensing agreement in organ transplantation

The company from Nantes OSE Immunotherapeutics has signed a contract with Veloxis Pharmaceuticals to grant the American company worldwide rights on its product FR104 in the field of organ transplantation. The agreement could bring in up to €315 million to OSE Immunotherapeutics.

OSE Immunotherapeutics was founded in Atlantic France in 2012 under the name OSE Pharma and was listed on the stock market in 2015. In 2016, the company merged with Effimune, another biotech from Nantes, and changed its name.

A specialist of immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases, Ose Immunotherapeutics obtained major public financing from Bpifrance over recent years, in particular for a multi-target vaccine against Covid-19 called CoVepiT.

Innovative solutions to activate the immune response

The company has developed several products including the FR104, a monoclonal antibody fragment which is a CD28 antagonist and improves the patients’ abilities to activate and regulate their immune system. 

The FR104 can be used for different autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, but also for transplants. It is precisely for this field of application that OSE Immunotherapeutics signed a worldwide licensing agreement with Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, an American subsidiary of the Japanese group Asahi Kasei.

A €315 million contract

Veloxis Pharmaceuticals now owns the worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, register and market FR104 for organ transplantation. The company is already planning to improve the product in order to provide a new therapeutic option for prophylaxis of organ rejection.

According to this contract, OSE Immunotherapeutics will receive  up  to  €315  million  in potential milestones, including €7 million in upfront, and tiered royalties on sales.

We are excited to begin this collaboration with Veloxis, a leading transplantation company, and the perfect partner for clinical advancement of FR104 in this field. This partnership demonstrates the outstanding value and great potential of our clinical stage product to meet patients and physicians’ needs in transplantation.

Alexis Peyroles, CEO of OSE Immunotherapeutics