Selecta Enters License Agreement With 3SBio For Gout Drug Lead

Biotech 3SBio announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Selecta Biosciences for its lead drug candidate pegsiticase (uricase PEG-20).

Pegsiticase is a pegylated urate oxidase or uricase, an enzyme highly effective in catalyzing oxidation of uric acid. Selecta will develop pegsiticase in patients with refractory and tophaceous gout and apply its immunomodulatory Synthetic Vaccine Particle (SVP) platform to optimize safety and efficacy for certain patients at risk of immunogenicity. SEl-212 is designed to be the first non-immunogenic version of uricase developed for the treatment of gout.

Werner Cautreels, president and CEO of Selecta, said, “Pegsiticase has already shown significant efficacy signals in gout patients and we have the opportunity to develop a novel therapeutic approach with the goal of preventing the inhibitory antibodies and other complications of immunogenicity that have been a significant barrier to the widespread use of uricase-based drugs. With the combination of SVP and pegsiticase, we believe we can dramatically improve treatment for patients with refractory and tophaceous gout.”

Gout affects around 2 to 3 million patients in the U.S. alone and more than 10 million around the world. The painful, inflammatory disease is rooted in a rise of plasma uric acid levels. Tophaceous gout results from painful deposits of uric acid crystals in joints, tendons and surrounding tissue and accounts for 7 to 10 percent of gout patients. Uric enzymes approved as treatment for the disease are highly effective for a short course of treatment, but tend to rapidly lose efficacy due to the production of anti-drug antibodies.

Dr. Jing Lou, CEO of 3SBio, said, “Patients with refractory and tophaceous gout have currently very limited treatment options… Together, we are committed to meeting the significant unmet needs of refractory and tophaceous gout patients.” The companies have agreed to collaborate to achieve clinical proof of concept for SEL-212 and pegsiticase in human clinical trials, set to begin in 2015.

No additional terms or financial details of the exclusive license were disclosed by either company.