Lundbeck acquiring Prexton in €905m deal

Under the deal, Merck-Serono spin-out company Prexton will receive an upfront payment of €100m and is eligible to bag up to €805 million in milestones. Foliglurax complements Lundbecks neurology pipeline of four post-Phase II drugs.

Prexton got €29m from Merck Ventures and co-investors in a Series B round in February 2017 to finance Phase II tests of the first-in-class mGluR4 allosteric modulator that reduces Parkinson’s symptoms by compensating a reduction in dopaminergic neurotransmission, which leads to an imbalance in the direct and indirect output pathways of basal ganglia in the brain’s of Parkinon’s patients. Activation of mGluR4 reduces release of the neurotransmitter GABA into presynaptic terminals of striato-pallidal synapses thereby decreasing output of the indirect pathway and reducing Parkinson’s symptoms. Prexton expects mGluR4 modulation not to cause common side effects observed upon administration of levodopa or other approaches targeting the dopamine system. Phase II data from the trail are expected in 2019.

Swiss Addex Therapeutics also develops a nanomolar, selective, brain penetrant and orally bioavailable mGluR4 postive allosteric modulator. However, ADX88178, has just been shown efficacy in preclinical models of Parkinson’s disease.