Astellas sells rights to BAFF/APRIL dual antagonist program to Thunderbolt

USA-based Baxalta (NYSE: BXLT), Velocity Pharmaceutical Development (VPD) and the US unit of Japan Astellas Pharma (TYO:4503) have announced that Thunderbolt Pharma, a company established by Vitesse Biologics, acquired all rights to the Astellas BAFF/APRIL dual antagonist program through an asset purchase agreement.

Vitesse is a company established last year by Baxalta, Velocity and Mayo Clinic, which focuses on early-stage R&D. The BAFF/APRIL dual antagonists will be developed for B cell disorders including systemic lupus erythematosus. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“With this asset purchase from Astellas and the creation of Thunderbolt, we are excited to begin to accelerate the development of the BAFF/APRIL dual antagonist program with the potential to deliver innovative treatments for patients with unmet needs,” said John Orloff, head of R& and chief scientific officer, Baxalta. “This is the first company formed under the Vitesse Biologics platform, and we look forward to continuing to build our portfolio to explore new concepts and technologies,” he added.