Eleven Biotherapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing protein therapeutics to treat diseases of the eye, has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Roche relating to Eleven’s interleukin-6 (IL-6) technology in a deal valued up to $270 million.

.Under the terms of the agreement, Eleven has agreed to grant an exclusive, worldwide license to Roche to develop and commercialize EBI-031, a humanized monoclonal antibody that potently binds IL-6 and inhibits all known forms of IL-6 cytokine signaling, currently being developed for the potential treatment of ocular diseases, and all other IL-6 antagonist antibody technology owned by Eleven.

Under the agreement, Eleven will be entitled to an upfront payment of $7.5 million, along with potential future milestone payments of up to $262.5 million. The first potential future milestone payment is subject to the effectiveness of an investigational new drug application (IND) for EBI-031, a pre-clinical product candidate for treating diabetic macular edema. This first milestone payment will equal $22.5 million if the IND becomes effective on or before September 15, 2016 or $20.0 million if the IND becomes effective after September 15, 2016. In addition, Eleven could be entitled to receive royalties for net sales of potential future products containing EBI-031 or any other potential future products containing other Eleven IL-6 compounds.

Effectiveness of the license agreement is subject to approval of the license by holders of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of Eleven’s common stock.

Source: Eleven Biotherapeutics