Licensing deals between Xenon and Isis for XEN701, and Access and AMAG for MuGard

USA-based Isis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ISIS) revealed that privately-held Canadian firm Xenon Pharmaceuticals has exercised its option to an exclusive worldwide license to XEN701, an antisense drug discovered in a collaboration between Isis and Xenon.

Isis earns a $2 million payment from Xenon for the license to XEN701, a drug candidate designed to inhibit the production of hepcidin, a target Xenon identified utilizing its extreme genetics platform for the treatment of anemia of chronic disorders (ACD). XEN701 is currently being evaluated in studies to support clinical development. Xenon plans to initially develop XEN701 for patients with chronic kidney disease who are intolerant of, or who are poor responders to, erythropoietin (EPO) therapy. XEN701 is the first drug to enter development from Isis' collaboration with Xenon.

"We are delighted with the advances we have made with Isis to discover XEN701," said Simon Pimstone, Xenon's president and chief executive, adding: "XEN701 has the potential to provide significant therapeutic benefit to patients with ACD through a novel non-EPO receptor based mechanism and we are looking forward to initiating clinic studies with this compound."