Bristol Myers Squibb and uniQure are bringing their cardiovascular gene therapy collaboration to an end, uniQure revealed in an SEC filing this week.
The deal was initially established in 2015 when BMS paid uniQure $50 million upfront to jointly develop gene therapies for heart failure. When announced, the companies said that the collaboration would include uniQure’s proprietary gene therapy program for congestive heart failure that is intended to restore the heart’s ability to synthesize S100A1, a calcium sensor and master regulator of heart function, and thereby improve clinical outcomes for patients with reduced ejection fraction. The agreement also estimated that the companies could collaborate on up to 10 targets, including S1000A1.
The plan was for uniQure to lead discovery efforts and manufacture clinical and commercial supplies using its vector technologies and its industrial, proprietary insect-cell-based manufacturing platform while BMS took over the development and regulatory activities while covering all costs for research and development. A few years later, in 2019, the companies amended the deal and extended the term for one more year and signed in 2020.
The companies are now officially breaking things off, with BMS providing uniQure with notice that the termination will be effective February 21, 2023.
The last month has marked a pivotal time for uniQure, which recently snagged FDA approval for the first gene therapy for adults with Hemophilia B, jointly developed with Australian drugmaker CSL Behring.
