Cidara Therapeutics Announces Agreement With Janssen to Develop & Commercialize AVCs for the Prevention & Treatment of Influenza

Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. recently announced it has entered into an exclusive worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop and commercialize Cidara’s Cloudbreak antiviral conjugates (AVCs) for the prevention and treatment of seasonal and pandemic influenza. This agreement was facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation.

Under the collaboration, Cidara will be responsible for the development and manufacturing of the first influenza AVC, CD388, into the clinic and through Phase 2 clinical development, and Janssen will be responsible for late-stage development, manufacturing, registration, and global commercialization. Cidara will receive an upfront payment of $27 million, and Janssen will fund all future research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization for CD388. In addition to the upfront payment, Cidara is eligible to receive up to an aggregate of $753 million in budgeted R&D funding and in development, regulatory and commercial milestones, plus tiered royalties on worldwide sales in the mid to high single digits. Cidara has the option to co-detail CD388 in the US.

“In the US alone, there are an estimated 100 million individuals who are at high risk for complications due to seasonal influenza, and each year, there are up to 650,000 influenza deaths worldwide. This collaboration represents a significant advancement toward fulfilling our vision of providing universal, seasonal protection against all seasonal and pandemic strains of influenza,” said Jeffrey Stein, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cidara. “We believe Janssen, with its expertise in the development and commercialization of vaccines and therapies for viral respiratory diseases, is the ideal partner to rapidly advance CD388. Importantly, this agreement validates our Cloudbreak antiviral platform as we continue to advance our AVC programs in RSV, HIV and SARS-CoV-2.”

CD388 is a long-acting antiviral immunotherapy designed to deliver universal protection for an entire influenza season. By targeting a highly conserved region on the influenza virus, CD388 has the potential to protect individuals from all influenza strains, including seasonal and pandemic influenza A, influenza B and major clinically characterized drug resistant influenza strains. CD388 retains its potent antiviral activity even in immunocompromised animal models of influenza infection and thus is expected to be clinically effective across all patient populations, regardless of immune status and circulating strains. Cidara expects to file an Investigational New Drug Application for CD388 with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of 2021.

The effectiveness of the agreement is subject to the expiration or earlier termination of all applicable waiting periods under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.

Cidara is developing a new generation of immunotherapeutic antivirals from its Cloudbreak antiviral platform that couple potent antivirals to a human antibody fragment. These long-acting, antiviral conjugates (AVCs) directly inhibit viral proliferation while simultaneously engaging the immune system. AVCs being studied for the prevention and treatment of seasonal and pandemic influenza have the potential to deliver universal protection for an entire flu season. Cidara is also advancing preclinical and discovery AVC programs to target other life-threatening viruses, such as RSV, HIV and SARS-CoV-2 strains causing COVID-19.

Cidara is developing long-acting therapeutics designed to transform the standard of care for patients facing serious fungal or viral infections. The company’s portfolio is comprised of its lead antifungal candidate, rezafungin, in addition to antiviral conjugates (AVCs) for the prevention and treatment of influenza and other viral diseases from Cidara’s proprietary Cloudbreak antiviral platform. Cidara is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information, visit www.cidara.com.