FPA congratulates its client – Kinoxis Therapeutics (Kinoxis) – on two recent successes:
- entering into a strategic partnership to collaborate with Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) on their oxytocin receptor-targeting program potentially worth >A$270m (US$181) made up of an upfront payment and commercial milestones, and
- obtaining further funding from the US National Institute of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) for their KNX100 program.
Kinoxis has been able to progress both of these programs based on the world-class science Kinoxis continues to complete. FPA is proud of the support we have provided to Kinoxis since its foundation, and that we have been able to prosecute and build Kinoxis’ IP portfolio to enable these successful commercialisation milestones.
Danny Gelman, Associate Principal at FPA said, “assisting Kinoxis is made easier by the quality of its science and its clarity of commercial vision.”
Mr. Alsop said, “IP is at the core of creating new therapeutics products. Being able to protect discoveries is required to ensure the risk capital applied to these projects can actually achieve a return. Our relationship with FPA is key to our company achieving our strategic goals.”
Kinoxis is a company built on research originally conducted at The University of Sydney, which Kinoxis has continued to develop. Dr Gelman said “the Kinoxis story to date serves as an excellent model for future Australian research translation success stories.”
1. BI Strategic partnership
The strategic partnership between Kinoxis and BI is built on several series of small-molecule binders of the oxytocin receptor. The Kinoxis team, led by its CEO Hugh Alsop, understood the potential commercial impact of this target, and has clearly built a commercially compelling package (including their patent portfolio). This partnership is another important step towards developing important new medicines for patients.
“We are extremely pleased to have entered into this collaborative agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim to accelerate the development of our unique oxytocin receptor targeting compounds,” said Mr Alsop. “This collaborative effort will enable development of these molecules to address the significant unmet needs of individuals living with mental health conditions.”
In addition to building and prosecuting the patent portfolio covering this program, FPA also supported Kinoxis through BI’s due diligence process, which included a focus on Kinoxis’ existing patent portfolio relevant to the partnered program.
2. NIH-NIDA
Kinoxis have also recently announced they have been awarded US$3.6 million in funding from the United States’ The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to further develop KNX100, their lead molecule targeted at treating the symptoms of opioid withdrawal. Not only is the award additional non-dilutive funding for the company and a continuation of NIDA support from their original award in 2019, it is a significant external validation for the KNX100 program. FPA are proud to support a program developing new treatments for such devastating conditions.
