Denovo Biopharma gets exclusive rights to liafensine

US biopharma firm Denovo Biopharma says that it has obtained an exclusive license to liafensine (DB104), a serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor (SNDRI), a late-stage CNS drug, from contract research and manufacturing organization Albany Molecular Research (Nasdaq: AMRI).

The agreement between Denovo and AMRI concludes AMRI's divesture of all its legacy intellectual property assets. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Denovo gains an exclusive license to all rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize liafensine globally. Liafensine represents the third late-stage product in Denovo's pipeline. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Liafensine was taken through significant preclinical research, early development and subsequently multiple Phase II clinical studies in treatment-resistant depression were conducted. Liafensine was well tolerated, with no evidence of dose-dependent discontinuations due to adverse events, however, the program – previously conducted by Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) - was not continued beyond Phase II studies in 2013.