Pharmaceutical Business review

SK Biopharmaceuticals, Eurofarma sign deal for epilepsy therapy

SK Biopharmaceuticals, Eurofarma sign deal to develop cenobamate to treat epilepsy in Latin America. Credit: MethoxyRoxy / commons.wikimedia.org.

Discovered and developed by SK Biopharmaceuticals and SK life science, cenobamate is an anti-seizure medication (ASM).

It is already approved and available in Europe and the US to treat adult patients with partial-onset seizures.

Under the deal, Eurofarma will gain exclusive rights to manufacture and commercialise cenobamate in Latin America.

As per the agreement terms, SK Biopharmaceuticals will receive $15m upfront payment and is eligible to receive up to $47m in future milestones along with royalties on the sales of the product in Latin American market.

SK Biopharmaceuticals stated that the deal reinforces its commitment and capabilities to develop medicines to treat central nervous system disorders as well as to provide treatment options for epilepsy.

It also noted that the company will now be present in Europe, North America, Asia, and Latin America with the new agreement.

SK Biopharmaceuticals president and CEO Jeong Woo Cho said: “We are extremely pleased to partner with Eurofarma, which has a proven track record in the region and a widespread network to drive development and commercialization of cenobamate in Latin America.

“This partnership reaffirms our commitment to provide innovative treatments to people with epilepsy.

“We will continue to broaden our footprint around the world to support the patient community with cenobamate.”

Ono Pharmaceutical and Ignis Therapeutics will manufacture and market the therapy in Japan and in the Greater China region, respectively.