With the latest hopes of licensing its hypertension drug Tryvio falling through, Idorsia has moved to claw back $100 million in upcoming development costs from a separate deal with Viatris.
Idorsia had been on the line for $200 million of development costs as part of a deal with Viatris for two phase 3-stage drugs called selatogrel and cenerimod. Switzerland-based Idorsia has been developing P2Y12 inhibitor selatogrel to improve outcomes in patients who suffer a second heart attack, while S1P1 receptor modulator cenerimod is in the works for systemic lupus erythematosus.
Under updated deal terms announced this morning, Idorsia said it will now only contribute $100 million in total for development of the two drugs. The company already paid $73 million of these costs last year, with the remaining $27 million due to be handed over in four quarterly installments in 2026.
Idorsia may have reduced the financial pain now, but it means less potential gain down the line. The updated deal will see the company’s eligibility for milestone payments reduced by $250 million. Idorsia received an upfront fee from Viatris of $350 million when it handed over the global rights to the two drugs a year ago, but the total milestone payments weren’t disclosed.
Idorsia announced the new deal terms just five minutes after disclosing that its latest plans to license Tryvio had fallen through. The dual endothelin receptor antagonist, also known as aprocitentan, has been available since October as a treatment for systemic hypertension, and Idorsia had signed an exclusivity agreement the following month with an undisclosed party to potentially pick up the global rights to the drug.
But that period has now elapsed without the potential buyer signing a deal, leaving Idorsia with only the $35 million exclusivity fee it received in December.
“It is disappointing that the undisclosed party has decided not to sign the deal contemplated for aprocitentan despite sharing our view on the quality of the asset,” Idorsia CEO André Muller said in the release.
“We need to move on, and we will resume discussions with other potential partners that recognize the blockbuster potential of aprocitentan in uncontrolled hypertension, particularly for the difficult-to-treat patients with chronic kidney disease and hypertension,” the CEO added.
It’s not the first time a company has soured on Tryvio. Johnson & Johnson returned the drug to Idorsia in 2023 after a phase 3 win left some questions about why 18% of people on the high dose had mild to moderate fluid retention.
Idorsia, which is no stranger to needing to find cash quickly, also said it has raised 150 million Swiss francs ($167 million) by restructuring its outstanding convertible bond debt. This money will “secure future operations,” the biopharma said.