Astellas Pharma announced Thursday morning that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Kate Therapeutics (KateTx) for KT430, an investigational gene therapy to treat myotubular myopathy.
As part of the deal, Astellas will provide KateTx with an undisclosed upfront payment to develop and commercialize the preclinical, next-generation KT430. For its part, KateTx will be eligible to receive development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments in addition to royalties on worldwide sales.
Astellas will hold the exclusive worldwide license for developing, manufacturing and commercializing the treatment for the rare, often fatal, neuromuscular disease.
“The combination of Kate’s unique scientific approach and Astellas’ depth of experience in developing gene therapies for XLMTM provides a solid foundation for the advancement of KT430 as it progresses towards the clinic,” Astellas’ chief strategy officer Adam Pearson said in a statement. “The addition of this new potential gene therapy treatment for XLMTM along with our current AT132 program further enhances our commitment to this patient community and dedication to delivering transformative medicines.”
The Japanese drugmaker’s month-long hot streak continues, having received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for Veozah, an oral nonhormonal compound for treating menopause-related symptoms.
The company has long been focused on severe vasomotor symptoms (VMS), which is the medical definition for hot flashes and night sweats associated with menopause. Astellas ran a 30-second ad during Super Bowl LVII titled What’s VMS? that asked women on the street about VMS and their experiences with menopause.
The license agreement was also announced the same day that KateTx emerged from stealth mode with a $51 million Series A funding round.
The biotech’s funding round was co-led by Westlake Village BioPartners and Versant Ventures and supports its initial pipeline focused on myotonic dystrophy type 1 as well as facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.
“We are excited to announce KateTx’s launch and what this means for patients suffering from muscle and heart diseases,” KateTx CEO Kevin Forrest, PhD, said in a statement. “KateTx is applying novel capsid and cargo technology platforms to enable skeletal and cardiac muscle targeting and liver de-targeting. We believe our technologies can provide safer and more effective medicines for patients.”
