Obseva sells rights to its preterm labor treatment for up to $115 million

Under the terms of the agreement with XOMA, ObsEva has sold and assigned all its rights to Ebopiprant, an investigational, orally active, selective prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) receptor antagonist being evaluated as a potential treatment for preterm labor by reducing inflammation and uterine contractions, to XOMA, including the Company’s license agreements with Organon and Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and the intellectual property estate. In addition to the $15 million received in upfront proceeds, ObsEva is eligible to receive up to $98 million upon the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones and sales milestones under the Company’s license agreement with Organon for Ebopiprant that was sold to XOMA in the transaction. In July 2021, ObsEva granted a license to Organon for the global development, manufacturing, and commercial rights to Ebopiprant.

ObsEva expects the sale proceeds to resolve its current over-indebtedness position, enabling the Company to withdraw the Company’s previously announced moratorium proceedings before Swiss courts, as well as position the Company to regain compliance with minimum stockholders’ equity requirements for continued listing on Nasdaq.

ObsEva’s second project in its pipeline is Nolasiban, a novel, oral oxytocin receptor antagonist being developed for improving clinical pregnancy and live birth rates in women undergoing in vitro fertilization. ObsEva retains worldwide, exclusive, commercial rights, except for the People’s Republic of China which has been sub-licensed to YuYuan BioScience. Yuyuan’s IND application for a Phase 1 clinical trial of nolasiban was recently approved by the Center for Drug Evaluation at the Chinese National Medical Products Administration. 

(Press release / SK)