GC Biopharma will sell its U.S. affiliate Curevo, Inc. to U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly and Company. It plans to use the secured funds to invest in future growth businesses such as premium vaccines and rare disease treatments.
GC Biopharma said on the 26th it will transfer all 21,075,336 Curevo equity shares it holds to Lilly. The transfer amount is about 459.9 billion won ($303.92 million). The scheduled transfer date is Aug. 24.
Curevo is a shingles vaccine developer established in Seattle in 2018 by GC Biopharma. GC Biopharma currently holds 20.3% equity in Curevo.
Through this transaction, Lilly will obtain rights to the next-generation shingles vaccine candidate "amezosvatein (development name CRV-101)" under development by Curevo.
Lilly said in a separate announcement the same day that the total acquisition size for Curevo is up to $1.5 billion. Upon closing of the transaction, it will pay an upfront payment and make additional milestone payments upon meeting certain conditions during future commercialization.
GC Biopharma will receive the upfront payment proportional to its 20.3% equity upon the closing of the transaction, and the amount will be reflected in future net income.
Amezosvatein conducted a head-to-head phase 2 global clinical trial against GSK's shingles vaccine "Shingrix." According to the company, it confirmed noninferiority in key immunogenicity endpoints and showed potential improvements in tolerability, including fatigue, chills, and injection-site pain.
GC Biopharma said that through this transaction it has secured a diversified mid- to long-term revenue structure, including ▲ proceeds from the sale of Curevo equity ▲ future milestone distributions ▲ contract manufacturing organization (CMO) sales ▲ sales-based royalties (license fees).
Heo Eun-cheol, CEO of GC Biopharma, said, "This transaction is the result of our research and development investment and collaboration strategy since Curevo's early days being recognized for its value," adding, "It is meaningful in that we have secured a stable cash-flow structure not only by recouping our simple investment costs but also through potential future businesses."
Heo said, "We will continue to expand differentiated asset development and strategic investments targeting the global market."
GC Biopharma plans to use the proceeds from this sale for the development of subcutaneous immune globulin (SCIG), premium vaccines, and innovative rare-disease medicines.