French biotechnology company TxCell SA, which specializes in the development of T-cell immunotherapy for severe chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, recently published updates on the company’s efforts to develop its lead therapeutic candidate Ovasave® for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The company’s collaboration, option, development and licensing agreement with Ferring International Center SA (Ferring) has been assigned to Trizell Holding SA (Trizell), an affiliate member of the Dr. Frederik Paulsen Foundation.
Trizell was created by the Foundation as a source of specialist management and scientific development expertise, focused on advanced therapies on a cellular and genetic level. These emerging yet highly promising biological therapeutics include TxCell’s Ovasave drug for IBD. Ferring had originally signed an exclusive worldwide agreement with TxCell last December 2013, giving them the option to handle the commercialization of the drug for Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Ferring and its subsidiaries currently have a strong presence in over 55 nations, along with an international franchise in IBD. The agreement is estimated to be worth as much as $90 million, which includes upfront and milestone payments, as well as royalties subject to certain adjustments. The recent assignment to Trizell does not alter any of these stipulations.
“Products at the forefront of innovation, such as TxCell’s personalized medicine, require expert and dedicated development teams. As such, TxCell’s lead product Ovasave® for severe refractory Crohn’s disease will benefit enormously from the additional focus and expertise that Trizell will supply,” said Damian Marron, the Chief Executive Officer of TxCell. “This is a clear example of the dedication and support TxCell was seeking when we entered into our earlier agreement with Ferring for Ovasave®. There are currently over 100,000 refractory Crohn’s patients per year in Europe and the US alone for whom there is no therapeutic treatment today1. These patients could benefit enormously from availability of Ovasave®.”
TxCell SA’s developmental approach centers on creating innovative, cost-effective, and personalized T-cell-based immunotherapies through the use of antigen specific regulatory T-cells (Ag-Tregs) in order to treat severe chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The company believes that this new agreement will have a positive impact on the further development of Ovasave.
“This assignment to the Foundation’s specialist company reinforces our increasing commitment to new products like Ovasave® which offer potential breakthroughs in the treatment for diseases with high unmet medical needs. Accordingly, we will be following its continued progress through development very closely as it is intended that Ferring will be the final commercializing party,” said Mr. Michel Pettigrew, the Chief Operating Officer and President of the Executive Board of Ferring.