Aclaris Divests Rhofade To EPI Health For $55M, Shares Up
Zacks Investment Research | Oct 13, 2019 10:28PM ET
Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS) announced that it has sold worldwide rights to its rosacea drug, Rhofade Cream, and certain licenses to related intellectual property assets to privately-held wholesale distributor of prescription drugs, EPI Health for $55 million. The divestiture is part of Aclaris’ ongoing restructuring program to focus on its immuno-inflammatory pipeline.
Shares of Aclaris rallied 19.3% on Oct 11, following the announcement. However, the company’s shares have declined 80.8% so far this year compared with the industry ’s decrease of 0.4%.
Per the terms of the deal, Aclaris is eligible to receive $35 million in upfront payment and up to $20 million in potential sales-based milestone payments t. In addition, Aclaris is also eligible to receive tiered royalties on net sales of the products. EPI Health will also pay 25% of any potential upfront, license, milestone, maintenance or fixed payment to Aclaris, paid by a licensee or sublicensee in ex-U.S. markets, subject to specified exceptions.
In September, Aclaris completed a strategic review of its business and announced a restructuring plan to reform itself from a dermatology company to development stage biotech focusing on developing treatment options targeting immunology and inflammation indications. Moreover, the company announced workforce reduction by 86 employees to streamline operations and reduce costs.
The Rhofade divestment deal helped Aclaris to clear its $30 million debt with Oxford Finance. Following the deal, given its restructuring initiatives, the company anticipates its cash resources to be sufficient to fund its operations into the third quarter of 2021.
Please note that Rhofade was a major revenue generator for Aclaris so far in 2019. The company acquired rights to Rhofade from Allergan (NYSE:AGN) in 2018. Aclaris has another drug in its portfolio, Eskata, which was approved by the FDA in 2017 for treating seborrheic keratosis, a common non-malignant skin tumor. The company voluntarily discontinued commercialization of the drug in August 2019 due to lower-than-expected sales. It is seeking a strategic partner to commercialize the drug.
The company is currently developing its lead pipeline candidate, A-101 45% topical solution for treatment of common warts in two late-stage studies. The candidate achieved clinically and statistically significant clearance of common warts in phase III THWART-2 study, per data announced last month.
Apart from A-101 45% topical solution, Aclaris has two JAK inhibitors – ATI-501 and ATI-502 – in mid-stage development targeting atopic dermatitis and alopecia, respectively. The company had in-licensed these two candidates from Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc, (NASDAQ:RIGL) in 2015. The company also has an early-stage candidate, ATI-450, which is being developed for treating rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis along with other pre-clinical candidates.
Get The News You Want
Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. Price
Zacks Investment Research
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.