Rare neurological disease drug developer Harmony Biosciences acquired Epygenix Therapeutics and its pipeline of treatments for rare epilepsy conditions.
Harmony paid $35 million upfront, and could pay another $130 million in development and regulatory milestones, according to a press release. The deal also includes sales-based payments that could be as much as $515 million.
Kumar BudurWith the acquisition, Harmony adds the antihistamine clemizole hydrochloride to its pipeline. Research from the University of California, San Francisco showed that the drug is also a serotonin receptor agonist with anti-epileptic activity, Harmony’s chief medical officer Kumar Budur said on an analyst call Tuesday.
The treatment is currently in a pivotal study for Dravet syndrome, a genetic form of epilepsy that typically starts in infancy or early childhood, with data expected in 2026. The company also plans to launch a Phase 3 trial of the treatment later this year in another form of genetic epilepsy called Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
The deal comes after Harmony licensed a treatment for narcolepsy and other sleep disorders from French company Bioprojet earlier in April.
Harmony markets the drug Wakix for adults with narcolepsy, and reported Tuesday that the treatment generated $154.6 million in the first quarter of the year, which was in line with what Wall Street analysts were expecting. The company is awaiting an FDA decision expected in June to potentially expand the treatment to children with the sleep disorder.
The company also plans to submit an application to expand the label of Wakix into a chronic sleep disorder called idiopathic hypersomnia later this year. The treatment failed to meet the primary goal of a key study in idiopathic hypersomnia last year.
Harmony’s shares $HRMY were up 12% Tuesday morning.