Richter signs endometriosis antibody deal

Gedeon Richter has signed a research collaboration and option agreement to license an endometriosis antibody with Swiss biotech FimmCyte AG.

Endometriosis, where tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere in the body and can cause chronic pain, affects about 190m women worldwide, the World Health Organization says.

There is currently no treatment that targets the cause, with care mainly focused on symptom relief.

Under the agreement, announced on the Budapest Stock Exchange website, the companies will carry out joint research and development to move FimmCyte’s FMC2 antibody into clinical development.

They describe FMC2 as potentially disease-modifying and as a candidate that could treat the underlying cause of the condition rather than symptoms.

The parties have also finalised an exclusive, global licence agreement for future development and commercialisation.

The licence would automatically take effect if Richter exercises its exclusive option before the first clinical study in humans begins.

Richter said the structure “provides a clear and efficient path from preclinical research to global commercialisation, eliminating the need for further negotiations on licensing agreements and enabling a rapid transition to clinical development.”

FimmCyte is eligible for development and commercial milestone payments, with tiered royalties on net sales. No financial figures were disclosed.

The collaboration combines Richter’s gynaecological expertise with FimmCyte’s immunotherapy and proprietary antibody technology, with the stated aim of bringing to market a treatment that targets the cause of endometriosis.