Diurnal enters Alkindi agreement for China region
Diurnal Group
27.30p
16:57 31/10/22
Specialty pharmaceutical company Diurnal Group has entered into an exclusive licence agreement for its product ‘Alkindi’, or hydrocortisone granules in capsules for opening, with Citrine Medicine, covering China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.
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The AIM-traded firm said that under the terms of the licence agreement, it would receive a non-refundable upfront payment of $0.5m, and $12.75m in additional cash payments on achievement of certain regulatory and sales milestones based on annual sales thresholds.
It said it would receive tiered royalties on sales ranging from low to mid double-digits.
Diurnal said Citrine is a therapeutics platform company focused on the Greater China market, co-founded by Vivo Capital, F-Prime Capital and Eight Roads Ventures.
It would be responsible for obtaining registration for Alkindi as a treatment for paediatric patients in China, and for all commercialisation activities, including pricing and reimbursement.
Citrine would initially use product from Diurnal's European supply chain, with an option to establish its own supply chain in China in the future.
It was estimated that congenital adrenal hyperplasia occurs in one in 6,084 births in China, with Diurnal describing it as a group of genetic conditions that limit hormone production in the adrenal glands, being identified as a rare disease by the Chinese health authorities in May 2018.
“With the increased focus from the Chinese health authorities on rare diseases in the past few years, we are delighted to have identified Citrine as a partner for Alkindi in China,” said chief executive officer Martin Whitaker.
“We have been impressed by Citrine's vision for the creation of a rare disease platform in China and the local development, regulatory and commercialisation expertise they are able to bring to the programme.”
Whitaker said he believed Diurnal was “well-positioned” to maximise the value of Alkindi in the key market.
“If approved, Alkindi will provide a major breakthrough in China as the only licensed treatment specifically designed for use in children with CAH, where there is a significant unmet patient need.”
At 1026 GMT, shares in Diurnal Group were up 8.09% at 59.45p.