OMERS Purchases Aclaris's Future OLUMIANT Royalties
OMERS buys Aclaris's future royalty payments from Lilly's OLUMIANT sales for alopecia areata.
Breaking News
Jul 17, 2024
Mrudula Kulkarni
One of Canada's largest defined benefit pension plans,
OMERS, has purchased a portion of Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc.'s future royalty payments and certain milestones from Eli Lilly and Company
(Lilly) on net sales of OLUMIANT® (baricitinib) for the treatment of alopecia
areata. Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical
company focused on developing novel drug candidates for immuno-inflammatory
diseases.
Aclaris has received an upfront payment of $26.5 million
under the terms of the deal, and it may get up to an additional $5.0 million
should specific sales targets for OLUMIANT be met in 2024. In return, OMERS has
acquired 100% of the remaining anniversary milestone payments that Lilly owes
Aclaris under the terms of the licence agreement, as well as a portion of the
royalty that Lilly pays Aclaris for worldwide net sales of OLUMIANT for alopecia
areata from April 1, 2024, through the remaining royalty term.
Dr. Neal Walker, Interim President & CEO of Aclaris and
Chair of the Board of Directors, stated, "This transaction bolsters our
balance sheet and provides us with enhanced financial flexibility to pursue a
range of value-creating opportunities while continuing to invest in our
internal programmes." "As we move forward with our strategic
assessment, we'll be looking for opportunities to invest in programmes that
complement and enhance our existing drug development pipeline.”