|
Heidelberg Pharma AG, a clinical stage biotech company developing innovative antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), announced on 7th March an additional amendment to its existing royalty purchase agreement with HealthCare Royalty (HCRx) and the participation of Soleus Capital Management, L.P. (Soleus Capital), a US-based life sciences investment firm, on behalf of its Soleus Capital Credit Opportunities Fund I, L.P. (and its affiliated funds). The amended agreement covers the partial monetization of Heidelberg Pharma’s future royalties on the worldwide sales of Telix Pharmaceuticals’ imaging diagnostic agent TLX250-Px. In conjunction with the amendment, Heidelberg Pharma is eligible to receive USD 20 million from Soleus Capital, subject to customary closing conditions. Another payment of USD 25 million will become due upon FDA approval of TLX250-Px.
In March 2024, Heidelberg Pharma entered into an agreement with HCRx for the sale of royalties on TLX250-Px up to a defined cap, which agreement was subsequently amended in March 2025. As part of the current amendment, Heidelberg Pharma has agreed to an increased cap on total payments alongside certain other contractual changes. The participation of Soleus Capital has no impact on the payments from HCRx.
Key terms of the agreement between Heidelberg Pharma, HCRx and Soleus Capital are:
• Heidelberg Pharma will receive a USD 20 million payment under the amended agreement, funded by Soleus Capital, subject to customary closing conditions expected to be fulfilled shortly.
• Heidelberg Pharma will receive another USD 25 million payment funded by Soleus Capital upon FDA approval of TLX250-Px. The calculation of the FDA approval milestone payment from HCRx under the existing agreement remains unchanged under this amendment.
• Once the maximum cumulative amount of royalties sold is reached under the amended agreement, a high single-digit royalty tail percentage amount will be due under the amended agreement and remaining royalty payments will revert to Heidelberg Pharma.
• Based on current planning, available funds and the today signed agreement, the Company's financing will be secured until mid-2027.
Dr Dongzhou Jeffery Liu, chief executive officer of Heidelberg Pharma, commented: “We are very delighted that Soleus Capital joined the existing agreement with HCRx. The initial milestone payment from Soleus Capital will provide us with non-dilutive financing and will secure the company’s financing until mid-2027. We are confident that TLX250-Px will receive FDA approval, that will trigger further milestone payments from our partners HCRx and Soleus Capital.”
“We are excited to partner with Heidelberg Pharma and HCRx on this transaction,” said Ben Lund, Partner at Soleus Capital. “There is significant unmet need for effective diagnostic agents for kidney cancer. Following approval by global regulatory authorities, we believe that TLX250-Px will become the new standard-of-care for the identification of clear cell renal cell carcinoma and other CAIX-expressing tumours.”
TLX250-Px is a radiolabelled form of the antibody girentuximab, which binds to the tumour specific antigen CAIX on ccRCC. Heidelberg Pharma developed the antibody up to a first completed phase III clinical trial prior to licensing it to Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited (Telix), an Australian company based in Melbourne, in 2017.
Heidelberg Pharma is the first company to develop cancer therapies using Amanitin, a compound derived from the green death cap mushroom. The biological mechanism of action of the toxin represents a new therapeutic modality and is used as a compound in the Amanitin-based ADC technology, the so-called ATAC technology.
HealthCare Royalty (HCRx) is a leading royalty acquisition company founded in 2006 that is majority owned by KKR & Co. Inc.. Over two decades, the HCRx team has developed a strong track record of investing in commercial-stage and near-commercial stage biopharmaceutical assets, committing $7+ billion in over 110 biopharmaceutical products.
Soleus Capital is a healthcare investment firm located in Greenwich, CT, USA, which manages hedge, private equity and credit funds primarily focused on the innovative areas of life sciences, including biotech, medtech, diagnostics, and genomics.
|