Debiopharm licenses Debio-0719 from Kirin

Swiss drugmaker Debiopharm has entered an exclusive R&D and commercialization agreement with Japanese conglomerate Kirin Brewery for Debio-0719, a highly potent inhibitor of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) signaling, in early preclinical development for the treatment of local as well as metastatic cancer.

Under the terms of the agreement, Debiopharm will fully manage and fund the development of Debio-0719, before out-licensing to sales and marketing partners in all territories outside of Asia, where Kirin will maintain development and commercialization rights in return for receive milestone payments, as well as royalties based on Debiopharm's revenues from worldwide sales.

Debio-0719, formerly named Ki16425/Ki16198, was discovered by Kirin in a screen for small-molecule compounds that block LPA, an important growth factor-like lipid that produces many cellular responses, from binding to its receptor.