Bayer and Arvinas, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARVN), a biopharmaceutical company creating a new class of therapies to degrade disease-causing proteins, today announced an agreement to leverage Arvinas’ novel PROTAC® protein degrader technology to develop new human therapeutics for patients with cardiovascular, oncological, and gynecological diseases. In addition, Bayer and Arvinas will jointly launch a new company to leverage Arvinas’ PROTAC® technology for agricultural applications. The overall series of arrangements includes over $110 million in upfront cash and committed funding for the human disease collaboration, the agricultural joint venture, and a direct equity investment by Bayer in Arvinas.
The multi-faceted deal will extend the application of targeted protein degradation to new therapeutic areas and outside human biology. It leverages Arvinas’ expertise in targeted protein degradation, a field the company has led since its founding in 2013, and Bayer’s decades of experience in developing both human therapies and innovative, sustainable agricultural technologies.
“As the first company founded around targeted protein degradation, we’ve been excited about the potential to improve the lives of patients since our inception,” said John Houston, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Arvinas. “However, we’ve known that the potential of this technology could be broader than drug development. Through these transactions, not only do we plan to expand our reach into new therapeutic areas, but we and Bayer expect to be the first to apply this approach to agriculture, working to safely and efficiently feed the world’s growing population. It’s a natural next step in our commitment to improving human health.”
“With our unique position as a leading company in both Crop Science and Pharmaceuticals, we see a great opportunity to partner with the pioneer of the PROTAC® technology, to advance this technology as quickly as possible to deliver future solutions for sustainable agriculture and innovative medicines for patients,” said Kemal Malik, Bayer Board member for Innovation.
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Pharmaceutical Collaboration and Equity Investment
Bayer and Arvinas will collaborate to seek to develop a series of novel product candidates for diseases with serious unmet need. Arvinas will receive an upfront payment and committed R&D funding, as well as a direct equity investment in Arvinas. Combined, these committed funds exceed $60 million. Bayer will own the rights to novel lead structures generated in the collaboration. As programs progress through research, development, and commercialization, Arvinas is also eligible to receive development milestones of over $685 million and commercial royalties ranging from the mid-single digits to the low double-digits.
Agricultural Joint Venture
In launching a joint venture (JV), Bayer and Arvinas are investing in one of the greatest challenges facing the world: feeding the growing global population. PROTAC® targeted protein degraders have the potential to address resistance mechanisms in plants to existing agricultural solutions, with solutions to control weeds, insects, and disease by leveraging the selectivity and other features of PROTAC® protein degraders. The JV will be committed to leveraging Arvinas’ PROTAC® protein degrader technology to create innovative, safe, and sustainable agricultural products. The JV will be supported by intellectual property and over $55 million in committed funding from Bayer, and by technology and intellectual property from Arvinas. Bayer and Arvinas will equally share governance and equity ownership of the JV.
Arvinas Financial Guidance
The closing of this multi-faceted deal with Bayer, including the pharmaceutical collaboration, direct equity investment, and agricultural JV, will lead to updated financial guidance for Arvinas. With the closing of the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and other customary closing conditions, current cash and investments are expected to be sufficient for planned operations into the second half of 2021.
Date: October 07, 2019
Source: GlobeNewswire
