Eisai and SEED Sign $1.5bn Deal

Big Pharma continues to cling to the notion of degraders of molecular glue. Japan’s Eisai is the most recent business to recognise a chance; the two companies have inked a $1.5 billion biobucks deal for undisclosed neurodegenerative and cancer targets.

Under the terms of the deal, Pennsylvania-based SEED will be in charge of leading the preclinical study to identify the aims, including choosing the right molecular glue degraders and E3 ligase. After then, Eisai will be the only company allowed to continue developing the resultant substances.

Though the firms did not provide a precise financial split, SEED is eligible to receive up to $1.5 billion in possible initial, preclinical, regulatory, and sales-based milestone compensation. Tiered royalties will also be paid to SEED in the event that any medications are commercialised.

Eisai’s Chief Scientific Officer Takashi Owa, Ph.D., stated: “SEED has a cutting-edge technology platform to discover a class of molecular-glue target protein degraders, one of the most highlighted modalities in modern drug discovery.”