Roivant Sciences launches new subsidiary, Hemavant

Switzerland-based Roivant Sciences has launched a new Vant subsidiary, Hemavant, which has entered into a licensing agreement with Japanese drugmaker Eisai (TYO: 4523) for exclusive global rights to the investigational agent RVT-2001 (previously H3B-8800,) a potential first-in-class small molecule SF3B1 modulator.

Hemavant plans to develop RVT-2001 as an oral therapy for transfusion-dependent anemia in patients with lower-risk MDS, with a robust open-label expansion of the ongoing Phase I/II clinical trial for RVT-2001 in the first half of calendar year 2022.

Under the terms of the agreement originally signed with Roivant, Eisai received a contractual up-front payment, development, and regulatory milestone payments for H3B-8800, and will also receive a certain amount of royalties on sales revenue of H3B-8800 after the launch.