image credit- shutterstock
China-based Everest Medicines has entered into an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement with US-based Travere Therapeutics, Inc. for the development and commercialisation of civorebrutinib (also known as EVER001), a potential best-in-class oral, covalent reversible Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor in all markets outside China and certain countries in East and Southeast Asia.
Civorebrutinib is an investigational oral, covalent reversible BTK inhibitor designed to provide differentiated efficacy, safety and convenience for patients with rare, immune-mediated kidney diseases, including primary membranous nephropathy (PMN), with planned evaluation in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), minimal change disease (MCD) and potentially additional indications. BTK is a key mediator of B-cell receptor signaling and plays an important role in B-cell activation, maturation, proliferation, and differentiation into antibody-producing cells.
As innovation in rare kidney diseases continues to accelerate, patients still face significant unmet need and limited treatment options across many serious conditions. Civorebrutinib has the potential to serve as a pipeline-in-a-product across multiple immune-mediated kidney diseases. Travere plans to investigate civorebrutinib in PMN, immune-mediated FSGS and MCD, with the potential for additional indications.
Under the terms of the agreement, Everest will receive an upfront payment of $112.5 million in exchange for granting Travere exclusive development and commercialization rights for civorebrutinib in all markets outside of China and certain countries in East and Southeast Asia. Everest is also eligible to receive up to approximately $1.03 billion in additional cash payments tied to specified clinical development, regulatory and commercial milestones across up to five indications. Travere will also pay tiered royalties on future sales in its licensed territories, ranging from high single-digit to double-digit percentages based on annual net sales thresholds.
