Ionis earns $75 million for advancing IONIS-FXI Rx

USA-based Ionis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IONS) announced today the advancement of IONIS-FXIRx in clinical development under an existing exclusive license agreement with Germany’s Bayer (BAYN: DE).

Under this agreement, Ionis will also initiate development of IONIS-FXI-LRx, which uses Ionis' proprietary LIgand Conjugated Antisense, or LICA, technology. In conjunction with the decision to advance these programs, Ionis will receive a $75 million payment from Bayer.

"We look forward to continuing the development of IONIS-FXIRx with Bayer. IONIS-FXIRx was the first antithrombotic in development to demonstrate the potential to separate antithrombotic activity from bleeding risk. We recently completed a Phase II study in patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis, in which IONIS-FXIRx demonstrated robust reductions in FXI activity and no treatment-related major bleeding," said Lynne Parshall, chief operating officer at Ionis Pharmaceuticals, adding: "We are pleased that Bayer has decided to expand our collaboration and initiate development of a LICA antisense drug targeting Factor XI.  Our LICA technology enables flexible, low and infrequent doses and dose regimens, which may be preferred for a drug targeting broad indications."