Apnimed and Shionogi announce joint venture

Shares of Japanese pharm major Shionogi (TYO: 4507) rose 2.4% to 7,152 yen, as the company announced a $150 million transaction with US clinical-stage firm Apnimed, supporting early and clinical-stage pipeline development in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and related sleep disorders to find oral pharmacologic solutions for people who cannot use or tolerate current therapies.

The company have established new joint venture, to be called Shionogi-Apnimed Sleep Science, initially focuses on accelerating the discovery, pre-clinical and clinical development of novel pharmacologic solutions designed to address the complex pathology of OSA.  The joint venture is owned equally by Shionogi and Apnimed.

Shionogi-Apnimed Sleep Science combines Apnimed’s deep knowledge of OSA, highly experienced clinical-stage drug development team and robust network of sleep medicine clinical sites with Shionogi’s highly efficient small molecule drug discovery engine and proven ability to create best-in-class compounds. The joint venture is owned equally by Apnimed and Shionogi.