Andera Partners sells its Life Sciences’ portfolio company Arvelle Therapeutics to Angelini Pharma in a deal valued at up to $960 million
Andera co-led the $207.5m Series A financing of Arvelle Therapeutics in February 2019 and joined the company’s board of directors. With the Series A funds, Arvelle in-licensed European product rights to Cenobamate from SK BioPharmaceuticals, prepared regulatory submission for the drug candidate and established a European structure.
Cenobamate is a small molecule with a unique dual complementary mechanism of action. It acts by positively modulating the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) ion channel and inhibiting voltage-gated sodium currents. Key study findings documented Cenobamate’s clinical efficacy by showing a significant greater reduction in median seizure frequency and more patients achieving a 50% or greater reduction in seizure frequency compared to the placebo group (see press release link below). Cenobamate is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States as an anti-seizure medication for the treatment of focal-onset epileptic seizures in adults. In 2020 Arvelle filed for European approval of Cenobamate.
This transaction is the second industrial sale from Andera Life Sciences BioDiscovery 5 fund portfolio, following the sale of Corvidia to NovoNordisk for $2.1Bn in the summer of 2020. It further adds to four public listings of BioDiscovery 5 companies (Axonics, Erytech, LogicBio and Nyxoah), and occurs still during the funds’ investment period.