Ionis and Akcea set for $75 million milestone payment

4 November 2020

Akcea and US pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) today revealed the start of a Phase IIb study of vupanorsen, an antisense therapy being developed for the potential treatment of patients with certain cardiovascular diseases (CVD).

The study, Targeting ANGPTL3 with an antisense oligonucleotide in adults with dyslipidemia (TRANSLATE-TIMI 70), will evaluate various doses of vupanorsen to inform potential future development.

Under the terms of the licensing deal with Pfizer for vupanorsen, Akcea and parent company Ionis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IONS) will receive a $75 million milestone payment, which will be split equally between the two companies. The two companies earned an upfront $250 million on signing the accord in late 2019. Ionis’ shares were up 4.1% at $48.94 in mid-morning trading.

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