Janssen and Capricor reach licensing deal for cell therapy program

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Janssen Inks Up to $337.5M Cell Therapy Collaboration with Capricor
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. x2 Z- h  ~5 r* _Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Biotech entered into an exclusive license option agreement to develop Capricor Therapeutics’ cell therapy program for cardiovascular applications—including its lead product, CAP-1002, a heart-disease treatment now heading into Phase II clinical trials—in a deal that could net Capricor as much as $337.5 million.
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3 E8 a% e% k# R( t: XJanssen agreed to pay Capricor $12.5 million up front, and up to $325 million if Janssen exercises option rights, plus royalties on commercial sales of CAP-1002. Under the agreement, Janssen has the right to enter into an exclusive license agreement for CAP-1002 at any time until 60 days after Capricor delivers six-month follow-up results from Phase II of its ALLSTAR clinical trial for the cell therapy.5 \: G! P9 Z5 m3 \: f8 C

1 \& ~' P7 U. p5 ^CAP-1002 is an allogeneic cardiosphere-derived cell therapy under study in patients who have suffered a large myocardial infarction.. Y% k+ `8 P& F$ W+ e. U

. U9 `- o7 [0 S* o% K6 d"This collaboration with Janssen, one of the world's largest and most respected healthcare companies with a strong presence in cardiovascular and metabolism, is a tremendous milestone for Capricor Therapeutics and an important validation of our lead product, CAP-1002, and the underlying science,” Capricor CEO Linda Marban, Ph.D., said in a statement.
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Capricor has won about $19.8 million in funding from California’s stem-cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), toward the Phase II trial, through CIRM’s Disease Team Therapy Development-Research program. The trial will be designed to assess both safety and efficacy of a heart-derived stem cell product in patients who have experienced a heart attack either recently or in the past.
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Capricor told CIRM its Phase I data suggest that treatment with the heart-derived cell product under development can turn scar tissue back into healthy heart muscle. The clinical program for CAP-1002 also builds upon earlier research for which Eduardo Marbán, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, won an earlier $5.56 million Disease Team Research I grant from CIRM.
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4 C6 O9 A) t  `4 j. f“The planned mid-stage trial will hopefully confirm that finding in a larger patient group and provide additional data to support the safety profile of the product,” the company stated in an abstract of the research published on CIRM’s website.
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# v+ p" Q8 K4 p% q3 @+ CA successful Phase II trial would be followed by a Phase III study, then a marketing application to the FDA, Capricor added: “The end result could be an affordable stem cell therapy effective as part of a treatment regimen after a heart attack.”& P. q* z9 N+ D% W

1 D+ n4 y: G0 Y) ]. G: C4 l4 q8 JCapricor became publicly traded in July following its merger with Nile Therapeutics, under which Capricor became a wholly owned subsidiary of Nile." s# T8 F2 ]. ]6 @% B
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