April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s drug maker Dong-A ST said on Nov. 2 its license deal worth US$61.5 million for a hepatitis therapy candidate with US biopharmaceutical firm Tobira Therapeutics has ended.

In April 2016, Dong-A ST signed the deal with Tobira, acquired by Allergan late last year, to jointly develop and sell the substance Evogliptin -- a non-alcoholic steatohepatitis treatment candidate. 

In a regulatory filing, the Korean firm said Allergan decided to hand back rights to develop and commercialize Evogliptin. A Dong-A official told The Investor that it can keep the upfront fee it received but declined to disclose the exact amount of payment.

Allergan took the decision due to its research and development strategy as the company has found an overlapping non-alcoholic steatohepatitis treatment candidate – Cenicriviroc, which is in phase 3 clinical trials -- in its pipeline following its takeover of Tobira in November 2016.

Dong-A said it will keep developing the drug candidate on its own as the deal cancellation was not due to efficacy problems.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)