Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Saniona Enter Exclusive Agreement

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc and Saniona have entered into a global license agreement for Jazz to obtain exclusive worldwide rights to develop SAN2355.

SAN2355 is a highly differentiated, subtype-selective Kv7.2/Kv7.3 activator in preclinical development for epilepsy and other potential indications, designed to overcome the limitations of non-selective Kv7-targeting compounds. 

Jazz will lead and fund further development, regulatory submissions, and global commercialization activities.

Under the terms of the agreement, Saniona will receive an upfront payment of $42.5 million. Saniona is eligible to receive: up to $192.5 million in development and regulatory milestones, including a $7.5 million milestone payment upon initiation of the first Phase 1 clinical study; up to $800 million in commercial milestone payments based on the achievement of significant and pre-specified annual net sales thresholds; and tiered royalties ranging from the mid-single digits to low-double digits on net sales of commercial products resulting from the development of SAN2355.

SAN2355 is a preclinical, selective small molecule activator of Kv7.2/Kv7.3 potassium channels, a mechanism validated for seizure suppression. Prior Kv7-targeting agents demonstrated clinical efficacy, but dosing appears to be limited by adverse events associated with off-target activation. 

SAN2355 is uniquely selective for Kv7.2/Kv7.3, the Kv7-subtypes responsible for seizure suppression, and avoids activation of other Kv7-subtypes. This selectivity enables SAN2355 to deliver dosing to optimal efficacy and supports its potential as a best-in-class treatment for epilepsy.

“Our collaboration with Jazz leverages their leading position in epilepsy and their strong track record of rapidly advancing clinical development programs and effectively commercializing novel therapies in neuroscience, positioning SAN2355 as a promising option for epilepsy and neurological conditions, while enabling us to advance several of our other valuable pipeline programs to key inflection points,” said Thomas Feldthus, CEO of Saniona.

Robert Iannone, executive vice president, global head of R&D, and chief medical officer of Jazz Pharmaceuticals, added, “This transaction further expands our early-stage neuroscience pipeline building on our existing expertise in the treatment of epilepsy and our R&D team remains committed to developing novel approaches to improving treatment options for people living with epilepsy and other neurologic conditions.”