SERB to pay Hansa €110M upfront for EU rights to kidney transplant drug

Swedish biotech Hansa won conditional approval for the antibody-cleaving enzyme, Idefirix, in Europe in 2020. The drug is designed to cleave the protective immunoglobulin G antibodies that, when present at high levels, prevent people from receiving kidney transplants. Hansa estimates 17,000 to 25,000 people in Europe and the US could benefit from its therapy, creating an opportunity worth more than $2 billion.

The company has yet to significantly penetrate the market. Idefirix sales climbed 46% to 204.7 million Swedish kronor (€18.7 million) last year, but made a slow start to 2026 as Hansa grappled with a market that it expects to remain “inherently variable” in the medium term because of organ allocation issues. 

SERB, a Brussels-based company that sells critical care and rare disease drugs, is betting its commercial capabilities can drive further growth of Idefirix. The company will pay Hansa €110 million upfront, plus €5 million if the European Medicines Agency (EMA) accepts a filing for full approval of Idefirix. In return, SERB will receive exclusive rights to Idefirix in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Hansa plans to transfer responsibility for long-term follow-up of its post-authorization efficacy study to SERB. Last month, Hansa said it expected to report topline results from the study in mid-2026 and win full EMA approval in 2027.

SERB will inherit the European Union market challenges faced by Hansa, which said last month that it was hindered by issues including market fragmentation, long and complex reimbursement processes at country, regional and hospital levels, and varied national organ collection systems. Hansa was working to fix regional market access challenges, run targeted public affairs activities in Germany and share data. 

Entering the US

Handing responsibility for the EU market challenges to SERB will free Hansa to focus on preparations for a US launch. The US Food and Drug Administration accepted Hansa’s request for approval in February, positioning the agency to reach a decision on the application by Dec. 19.

Hansa, which ended March with 676.5 million Swedish kronor (€61.8 million) in cash and equivalents, will benefit from the infusion of money provided by the SERB agreement. The deal “significantly strengthens our financial position assuring an optimized US launch and a pathway to profitability,” Hansa CEO Renée Aguiar-Lucander said in a statement. 

The company expects to hire a field team of about 20 full-time equivalents to commercialize the drug in the US. Hansa’s Phase 3 study enrolled patients at 25 US sites that account for about 25% of transplant volumes, giving the company existing connections to key physicians. The company estimates that 100 centers account for about 80% of transplant volumes in the US.