XOMA Acquires Royalty Rights to Five Hematology Candidates
EMERYVILLE, Calif.,? XOMA Corporation (NASDAQ: XOMA) announced today it has agreed to acquire the rights to potential royalty payments and a portion of the potential milestone payments associated with five hematology assets from Aronora, Inc.? Three of the assets are anti-thrombotic candidates that are covered by a collaboration with Bayer, a global leader in hematology therapeutics.? Two of the collaboration assets are in early to mid-stages of development and the third is a Phase 2 candidate that is subject to an option.? In addition, XOMA agreed to acquire the rights to potential royalty payments and a portion of the potential upfront and milestone payments associated with two unpartnered hematology programs from Aronora.
?The transaction diversifies XOMA?s royalty interest portfolio by expanding into hematology indications, and these innovative anti-thrombotic candidates have the potential to address very large market opportunities. ?The fact that three assets are part of an ongoing collaboration between Aronora and Bayer, a company for whom we have tremendous respect, strengthens our belief in the potential of these therapies to address significant unmet medical needs,? said?Jim Neal, Chief Executive Officer at?XOMA. ??These assets possess the characteristics we have established for our royalty aggregator business model: outstanding development partner, mid-stage to early clinical stage of development, important therapeutic categories, and sizable potential royalty opportunities.? Aronora?s expertise in hematology, with an advanced focus on anti-thrombotic monoclonal antibodies, intrigued our team.? The five royalty interest assets?XOMA?acquired from Aronora are:- Three Bayer collaboration monoclonal antibody (mAb) programs targeting factor XI/XIa: ?BAY1213790 in Phase 2 clinical development; BAY1831865 in early clinical development; and Aronora?s AB023 (xisomab 3G3) in Phase 2 development; and,
- Two proprietary hematology programs at Phase 1 and preclinical stage: AB002, a thrombin analog, and AB054, a factor XII mAb, positioned for acute cardiovascular events, medical device associated clots, and/or inflammation.