Bristol Myers pays $80M to license another Prothena neuroscience candidate

Bristol Myers Squibb is shelling out $80 million to Prothena for an exclusive global license for an early-stage neurodegenerative candidate, as the pharma giant continues to invest in its neuroscience pipeline.

The drug, dubbed PRX019, is still a bit of a mystery — its target is undisclosed — but Prothena said Tuesday that the FDA already cleared the IND application and the plan is to start a Phase 1 trial by the end of the year. Prothena is responsible for the trial, but Bristol Myers has the option to take over, according to an SEC filing.

As part of the deal, Dublin-based Prothena is also eligible for development, regulatory and sales milestone payments of up to $617.5 million, as well as tiered royalties on net sales. Of the milestones, $375 million is tied to achievement of certain sales thresholds, per the filing.

Jefferies analysts wrote in a Tuesday note that while the target of the candidate is undisclosed, they “assume they could be targeting TREM2 or APOE4 which are two common genetic mutations leading to Alzheimer’s.” Prothena has a stated focus on misfolded or dysregulated proteins.

Richard Hargreaves

The exclusive license is adding to Bristol Myers’ “growing” neuroscience pipeline, Richard Hargreaves, SVP and head of Bristol’s Neuroscience Thematic Research Center, said in a statement.

This is the second neuroscience clinical development deal between the two companies. Last year, Bristol Myers paid out $55 million for the exclusive global license for Prothena’s clinical-stage anti-tau antibody PRX005 after paying $80 million for the US rights two years earlier.

The PRX019 license is another, albeit smaller, part of Bristol Myers’ recent neuroscience deal spree. Late last year, the company bought Karuna Therapeutics for $14 billion, taking on a late-stage schizophrenia drug called KarXT with an FDA decision date in September. KarXT is also being investigated in Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, and analysts have estimated that the drug could bring in as much as $6 billion in sales.

Also in 2023, Bristol Myers paid $40 million to Evotec in exchange for an undisclosed number of late-stage discovery programs in neurodegeneration.