A roundup of bio/pharmaceutical partnering news from GSK/Flagship Pioneering and AbbVie/Sionna. 

* GSK, Flagship Pioneering in $870-M Drug & Vaccines Pact  
* AbbVie, Sionna in Cystic Fibrosis Drug Licensing Pact

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GSK, Flagship Pioneering in $870-M Drug & Vaccines Pact 
GSK and Flagship Pioneering, a private equity firm that funds new bio/pharmaceutical companies (bioplatform companies), have entered a collaboration with the goal of discovering and developing a portfolio of future medicines and vaccines, starting in respiratory and immunology, in a deal worth up to $870 million ($150 million upfront and $720 million in milestone payments). 

GSK and Flagship will initially fund up to $150 million upfront to support an exploration phase to identify the most promising concepts for further research and development with Flagship’s bioplatform companies. From these explorations, the collaboration aims to identify a portfolio of up to 10 novel medicines and vaccines that will each be subject to an exclusive option by GSK for further clinical development.  

Under the agreement, Flagship and its bioplatform companies will be eligible to receive up to $720 million in upfront, development,  and commercial milestones from GSK, as well as preclinical funding and tiered royalties, for each acquired program. 

Source: GSK 

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AbbVie, Sionna in Cystic Fibrosis Drug Licensing Pact 
AbbVie and Sionna Therapeutics, a Boston-based bio/pharmaceutical company focused on treatments for cystic fibrosis (CF), have entered an agreement under which Sionna obtained exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize multiple clinical-stage compounds  for treating CF through a license agreement with AbbVie.   

Under the agreement, Sionna will assume all development responsibilities for galicaftor (ABBV-2222), a transmembrane domain 1 (TMD1)-directed cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) corrector, and navocaftor (ABBV-3067), a CFTR potentiator, both of which have completed Phase II studies, and a Phase I TMD1-directed corrector, ABBV-2851. Sionna will prioritize advancing one of the AbbVie compounds and SION-109 as potential dual combination options with a first nucleotide binding domain (NBD1) stabilizer. AbbVie will receive an upfront payment, an equity investment in Sionna, and will be eligible to receive late-stage development and commercial milestones and royalties. 

Sionna expects to complete a Phase I study of its complementary modulator SION-109, targeting the interface between the intracellular loop 4 (ICL4) region and the NBD1 domain of the CFTR protein, in the second half of 2024. The company also plans to initiate Phase I studies of two NBD1 stabilizers, SION-451 and SION-719, this year (2024). 

Source: Sionna Therapeutics