Ascendis Pharma Signs Pact with Teijin To Develop TransCon hGH

Ascendis Pharma A/S announced an exclusive licensing agreement with Teijin Limited for the further development and marketing of TransCon hGH, TransCon PTH, and TransCon CNP for endocrinology rare illness in Japan.

“We are pleased to partner with Teijin Pharma given their track record of navigating regulatory approval and commercialization of rare disease and endocrinology product candidates in Japan, and commitment to providing best-in-class therapies,” said Jan Mikkelsen, Ascendis Pharma’s president and chief executive officer. “We believe this collaboration is a major step in our journey to achieve global reach for our current endocrinology rare disease portfolio by helping to address unmet medical needs of patients in Japan.”

“Ascendis has leveraged its innovative TransCon technology platform to create a suite of highly differentiated product candidates with best-in-class potential that complement our existing pharmaceutical portfolio,” said Akimoto Uchikawa, Teijin Limited’s president and chief executive officer. “We expect this partnership will contribute a great deal to advance our healthcare business vision to address issues of patients, families and communities in need of more support followed by the introduction of pharmaceuticals in rare and intractable disease areas utilizing our business platform cultivated so far.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Ascendis will receive an upfront payment of $70 million, with additional development and regulatory milestones of up to $175 million, transfer pricing and commercial milestones. In addition, Ascendis Pharma is eligible to receive royalties on net sales in Japan, of up to mid-20’s per cent, varying by product, as per pharmabiz.

Ascendis Pharma is developing a leading, fully integrated biopharma firm based on its breakthrough TransCon technology platform, with the goal of making a real difference in the lives of patients. Teijin is a multinational technology company with two major businesses: high-performance materials and healthcare solutions.