Forbion, a healthcare venture capital firm with centers in Germany and the Netherlands, recently announced that its portfolio company Staten Biotechnology B.V. and Denmark-based healthcare company Novo Nordisk A/S have collaborated and signed an exclusive option agreement in a bid to develop new therapeutics hypertriglyceridaemia treatment.
It has been reported that under the clauses of the agreement, Staten Biotechnology shall be offered R&D support and funding by Novo Nordisk for the development of its chief asset STT-5058 to treat dyslipidaemia. Staten and its shareholders will receive milestone payments worth 430-million-euros and are also entitled to receive exercise & signing fees.
Sander van Deventer, Staten’s co-founder and Operating Partner at Forbion, was quoted saying that the company is pleased about its portfolio company Staten having attracted Novo Nordisk as a corporate partner in a valuable transaction. He further added that the collaboration shows the company’s potential to create top companies in untapped areas with unmet needs, working with key people who have faced success with the previous portfolio companies of Forbion like Dezima Pharma.
For those uninitiated, Staten Biotechnology creates innovative strategies for treatment of dyslipidaemia and focuses on the treatment of hypertriglyceridaemia. The firm is currently developing a humanized and monoclonal antibody named STT-5058, with an approach to neutralizing ApoC3 which is a key molecule in the management of dyslipidaemia. Staten is apparently a major example of BGV’s (BioGeneration Ventures) and Forbion’s company building activities that are expanding noble scientific ideas into leading ventures.
According to Dr. Hilde Steineger, Staten’s CEO, Novo Nordisk is collaborating with the biotech company which is moving its lead compound towards the first clinical trial, intending to address residual cardiovascular risks in hypertriglyceridaemia patients. She further commented that this partnership provides the company with a funding structure which helps founders, investors, and the management to increase developments.
Relevant sources claim that under the exclusive option deal, Novo Nordisk A/S has the right to attain Staten Biotechnology and gain global rights to STT-5058.
