Company Announcements

2 August 2019

Dechra^® Pharmaceuticals PLC

(Dechra or the Company) 

IP Licensing and Supply Agreement for the Development of a Significant Novel Product

The Board of Dechra is pleased to announce the signing of a licensing and supply agreement with Akston Biosciences Corporation (Akston) for a patent pending, long acting protein for the treatment of diabetes in dogs. 

Following an initial upfront payment of US$2.0 million, there are subsequent milestone payments totalling US$14.0 million due on the achievement of major milestones in the development process, which should be completed within five years.  Furthermore, Dechra anticipates product development spend to increase by approximately £20.0 million spread over the next four years in order to achieve marketing authorisations in the United States and European Union and subsequently other global markets.

Diabetes is currently treated by daily injections; however, proof of concept studies conducted to date indicate that a single injection of this long acting protein will have a duration of seven days, providing a clear advantage over current treatments to both the dog owner and the dog's welfare.  Under the terms of the agreement Dechra also has the option to license a version for cats, which will be subject to additional milestones.

Dechra's Chief Executive Officer, Ian Page said:

"We are delighted to have secured this major development opportunity which will further enhance Dechra's position as world leaders in veterinary endocrinology.  Once approved this will become the most significant product in our portfolio as we continue to build our portfolio of novel drugs".

Akston's Chief Executive Officer, Todd Zion said:

"We are pleased to have found a strong partner in Dechra to co-develop and commercialise our novel ultra-long acting insulin technology.  Once approved, this will become a key asset in our platform of engineered insulin products".

Akston were advised on the transaction by Oriole Advisors.

About Dechra

Dechra is an international specialist veterinary pharmaceuticals and related products business.  Our expertise is in the development, manufacture, and sales and marketing of high quality products exclusively for veterinarians worldwide. The majority of Dechra's products are focused on key therapeutic categories where we have leading market positions, and many of our products are used to treat medical conditions for which there is no other effective solution or have a clinical or dosing advantage over competitor products.  For more information, please visit: www.dechra.com.

Stock Code: Full Listing (Pharmaceuticals): DPH

About Akston

Akston is a leader in the field of insulin engineering.  The company was founded in 2011 by the former SmartCells, Inc. team who developed the world's first clinical glucose-responsive insulin, which was acquired by Merck & Co. in 2010.  Combining its core expertise with modern biotechnology manufacturing techniques, Akston is developing new classes of biologic therapeutics for use in autoimmune type 1 diabetes prevention, ultra-long acting insulin therapy, and oncology to dramatically improve both human and animal health.  For more information, please visit: www.akstonbio.com.

Trademarks

Dechra and the Dechra "D" logo are registered trademarks of Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC.

Forward Looking Statement

This document may contain certain forward-looking statements.  The forward-looking statements reflect the knowledge and information available to the Company during the preparation and up to the publication of this document.  By their very nature, these statements depend upon circumstances and relate to events that may occur in the future thereby involve a degree of uncertainty.  Therefore, nothing in this document should be construed as a profit forecast by the Company.