University College London spin-out Canbex Therapeutics has received €6m ($6.8m) from pharmaceutical firm Ipsen in exchange for the option to acquire the firm upon competition of its Phase IIa clinical study.
Canbex is currently developing a drug for the treatment of spasticity in people who suffer from multiple sclerosis. The firm previously raised £2.3m ($3.6m) in a 2013 series A round, which received backing from UCL, charity investor the Wellcome Trust, and Merck Serono’s venture capital arm MS Ventures.
Canbex’s Phase I study demonstrated its primary candidate, VSN16R, to be safe and well tolerated. Should Ipsen choose to exercise its option after Candex’s Phase IIa study, the firm will pay an additional €90m as part acquisition, part milestone payment.
Keith Powell, chairman of Canbex, said: “Canbex is excited to be working with Ipsen, because of its leading expertise in spasticity and its commitment to providing better treatments. Ipsen is excellently placed to help bring our promising new medication to patients in this important and poorly served medical need.”
