Italy’s Angelini pens $360M biobucks pact for Cureverse’s phase 1 brain disorder drug

Italy’s Angelini Pharma has signed a $360 million biobucks pact centered on a phase 1-stage brain health drug from South Korea’s Cureverse.

The asset, CV-01, is designed to activate protective pathways regulated by the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). Cureverse has touted the compound’s potential to treat a range of brain-related diseases and disorders, including epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

In addition to $360 million in potential development and commercial milestone payments, Cureverse will also receive an upfront fee and tiered royalties should CV-01 make it to market. In return, Angelini will take the lead on developing the compound and will have the option to secure the rights to develop and commercialize the drug outside of South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Cureverse has been focusing on CV-01’s role in Alzheimer’s, including running an ongoing phase 1 study in the neurodegenerative disease. But Angelini put more emphasis on the therapy’s potential in epilepsy in its Oct. 21 press release.

“Our strategic collaboration with Cureverse further strengthens Angelini Pharma’s position as an emerging leader in brain health,” Angelini CEO Jacopo Andreose said in the release.

“Neurological conditions such as epilepsy are among leading causes of disease burden worldwide,” Andreose added. “Through the development of CV-01 and potentially other compounds, we aim to provide much-needed solutions for people living with brain health conditions across the world.”

Angelini, which is owned by the multi-sector Angelini Industries, sells a range of mental health and pain drugs. This includes selling SK Biopharmaceuticals’ seizure medicine cenobamate in Europe, where it is marketed as Ontozry.

Angelini and Cureverse aren’t the first companies to see potential in Nrf2. Last year, Reata Pharmaceuticals scored its first-ever FDA approval thanks to Skyclarys, which activates Nrf2 to treat Friedreich’s ataxia.

Angelini’s attempts to bolster its epilepsy pipeline also saw it pen a deal worth over $500 million in biobucks with Japan-based JCR Pharmaceuticals last year to collaborate on tech that could help epilepsy treatments overcome the notoriously tricky blood-brain barrier.