Heidelberg and Inserm have scored exits after an acquisition that followed MYR's chronic hepatitis delta virus treatment receiving European regulatory approval.
MYR, a Germany-based chronic hepatitis therapy developer spun out of Heidelberg University and French state research institute Inserm, has agreed to an acquistion by pharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences for nearly €1.2bn ($1.4bn) in cash.
Gilead will pay the $1.4bn sum once the deal is completed, subject to customary conditions, and MYR could receive up to $364m in milestone payments.
MYR’s drug, Hepcludex, helps to remedy chronic hepatitis delta virus (HDV), a viral liver infection that can cause cancer and liver fibrosis.
Existing HDV treatments mainly limit disease progression rather than eradicating the virus.
MYR says Hepcludex is the first HDV-specific medicine to receive conditional EU approval, having already launched in France, Germany and Austria.
Gilead now plans to accelerate Hepcludex’s global roll-out, including a US submission due in mid-2021.
High-Tech Gründerfonds provided an undisclosed amount of seed capital to MYR in 2011, though further details about the spinout’s funding history could not be ascertained.
