OSE Immunotherapeutics signs out-license option for Effi-7

Shares of French biotech firm OSE Immunotherapeutics (OSE: FP) rose 23.95% euros after the company revealed it has entered into a licensing option for the development and commercialization of its Effi-7, an antagonist of the interleukin-7 receptor.

Under the terms of the agreement, OSE Immunotherapeutics grants French independent drugmaker Servier a license option on the exclusive worldwide rights for the development and commercialization of its product Effi-7. OSE Immunotherapeutics is eligible to receive up to 272 million euros ($285 million) including an upfront of 10.25 million euros and additional payments of 30 million euros upon the exercise of a two-steps option license.

These steps will enable the development of Effi-7 up to the completion of a Phase II clinical trial planned in ulcerative colitis, an autoimmune bowel disease. Further payments will be linked to the achievement of clinical development and registration in multiple indications, as well as sales milestones with double-digit royalties on sales.

Effi-7 is a monoclonal immunomodulatory antibody targeting the alpha chain of the interleukin-7 receptor (IL-7R-alpha or CD127 receptor). Effi-7 has an innovative mechanism of action: it blocks both the IL-7 and the internalization of the receptor, thus inducing a powerful antagonist effect on the pathogenic T lymphocytes involved in autoimmune diseases. This mechanism has been confirmed recently through multiple in vitro studies.