Sanofi has extended its cardiomyopathy research collaboration with MyoKardia, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in South San Francisco, California, triggering a $45-million milestone payment to MyoKardia payable by January 31, 2017. The extension applies to the initial collaboration formed by the two companies in August 2014. The terms of the agreement provided Sanofi the option of either concluding the collaboration at year-end 2016 or extending the agreement.

The research and development collaboration encompasses three MyoKardia programs. Two of these programs are focused on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and one targets dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). MyoKardia lead product candidate, MYK-461, an orally administered small-molecule drug, was granted orphan drug designation by the US Food and Drug (FDA) Administration in an initial indication for symptomatic, obstructive HCM. MyoKardia is studying MYK-461 in a Phase II trial for HCM.

MyoKardia received a separate, $25-million milestone payment from Sanofi in November 2016 for the filing of an investigational new drug application with the FDA for its MYK-491 program in DCM. MyoKardia intends to initiate a Phase I study of MYK-491 in the first half of 2017.

In the US, MyoKardia maintains commercial rights to MYK-461 and another drug candidate, HCM-2, as well as co-promotion rights for MYK-491.

Source: MyoKardia