iX Biopharma hands Seelos exclusive rights for lead drug Wafermine

CATALIST-LISED iX Biopharma has inked an exclusive agreement to license its lead drug under development, Wafermine, to Seelos Therapeutics - a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company.

Seelos, which develops novel therapeutics for central nervous systems disorders, will have exclusive worldwide rights for Wafermine, with the exception of China, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan - which iX Biopharma will retain the rights for.

Seelos will also have worldwide rights to products incorporating R- and S- enantiomers of ketamine being developed using iX Biopharma's WaferiX technology.

As part of the deal, iX Biopharma will receive a US$9 million upfront payment in cash and shares from Seelos. The speciality pharmaceutical company will also be eligible for up to US$239 million in development and sales milestone payments.

Moreover, iX Biopharma will receive "double-digit" percentage royalties on future net sales of any products which incorporate the R- and S- enantiomers of ketamine using its WaferiX technology.

iX Biopharma chairman and chief executive Eddy Lee said Seelos' deep insights in ketamine drug development make them an ideal partner to further the development of Wafermine and other sublingual ketamine products.

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"Licensing our WaferiX-based pharmaceutical drugs to suitable third parties for development and commercialisation is a core strategy to unlock the value of our assets," he added.

Ketamine provides a non-opioid approach for the treatment of pain by targeting the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor. It also has the potential to treat depression, iX Biopharma said, citing clinical studies.

The company's lead product Wafermine provides ketamine in the form of easily-dissolved wafers for faster therapeutic action and predictable dosing, it added.

Shares of iX Biopharma were trading 1.9 per cent or S$0.005 lower at S$0.255 as at 11.05 am on Wednesday.

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