BRIEF—Mitsubishi Tanabe buys rights to CNS disease candidate

Viela Bio and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma have agreed a rights deal for the development and commercialization of inebilizumab in nine Asian countries including Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

The agreement covers the indication of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, as well as other potential future applications of the anti-CD19 candidate, which was recently accepted for Priority Review by the US regulator.

Viela will be paid an up-front fee of $30 million and will be eligible for milestone payments and a cut of sales.

Mitsubishi Tanabe says it has identified central nervous system disorders as a priority area, and that it aims to: “aggressively work to develop new drugs” in this area.