Qilu Pharmaceutical Secures Exclusive Rights to First-in-Class Antihypertensive Candidate Firibastat in Greater China for $50 Million

On October 19, Quantum Genomics announced that it had entered into an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement with Qilu Pharmaceutical. Under the terms of the agreement, Qilu Pharmaceutical will obtain exclusive commercialization rights in China (including Hong Kong and Macau) for firibastat, the former’s potential antihypertensive therapy. Quantum Genomics will receive up to $50 million in upfront and milestone payments, plus double-digit sales royalties.

Quantum Genomics is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing innovative drugs that directly target the brain for the treatment of resistant hypertension. Firibastat (initially named QGC001) is a “first-in-class” candidate drug developed by the company for the treatment of resistant hypertension.

According to the official website of Quantum Genomics, firibastat is the company’s first brain aminopeptidase A inhibitor (BAPAI) candidate drug. Firibastat is a prodrug that delivers EC33 to the brain; EC33 is a selective and specific inhibitor of aminopeptidase A, thereby preventing the production of angiotensin III in the brain.

Due to its unique mechanism of action, fribastat represents a potential novel therapy for the treatment of hypertension. This class of therapies may interfere with the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension and blood pressure control, particularly targeting patients with a specific hormonal profile characterized by low renin concentrations and high vasopressin concentrations. In a Phase 2 clinical trial completed by Quantum Genomics in 2016, fribastat demonstrated positive results, particularly regarding the primary endpoint of reduction in daytime systolic blood pressure in hypertensive patients.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, Quantum Genomics initiated another Phase 2b study in the United States, named NEW-HOPE, which enrolled 256 hypertensive patients at high cardiovascular risk. The Phase 2b results announced in November 2018 demonstrated that fribastat exerted highly significant antihypertensive efficacy in hypertensive patients with high cardiovascular risk who are typically difficult to treat.

Based on these results, Quantum Genomics is preparing to launch a Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of fribastat as an antihypertensive agent, in preparation for product commercialization. According to the press release, Qilu Pharmaceutical plans to incorporate its China-based refractory hypertension trial into the global study.

References:

[1]Quantum Genomics Enters into Exclusive Licensing and Collaboration Agreement with Qilu Pharmaceutical . Retrieved Oct 29，2020, from https://quantum-genomics.com/en/press-releases/?ID=ACTUS-0-65617&CLIENT=ACTUS-0-368

[2] Quantum Genomics Official Website. From https://quantum-genomics.com/en/science/pipeline/firibastat-first-in-class-hypertension-as-monotherapy/

Source: Yiyao Guanlan

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