Bayer returns rights to fesomersen to Ionis, despite positive trial results

5 November 2022

US drug developer Ionis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IONS) saw its shares close down 8.5% at $40.98 on Friday, after it revealed that its licensing partner, Germany’s Bayer (BAYN: DE), had pulled out of a deal for the development of fesomersen.

The agreement, originally signed in 2015, will terminate effective January 29, 2023. Ionis said it will be seeking a new development partner for the compound. Then called Isis Pharmaceuticals, the company received a $100 million upfront payment.

The news came the same day that Bayer presented positive clinical trial results for the drug at the American Society of Nephrology's (ASN) Kidney Week 2022. The RE-THINC ESRD study presented evaluated fesomersen in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis.

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