• Innovative non-hormonal oral compound NT-814 to alleviate menopausal symptoms
  • Development compound recently completed Phase IIb
  • Upfront consideration of USD 425 million and additional potential consideration in the form of milestone payments

NAARDEN, The Netherlands & BERLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Forbion, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm, today announces that Bayer, a global leader in women’s healthcare, will acquire the UK-based biotech KaNDy Therapeutics Ltd. to expand its drug development pipeline in women’s healthcare.

KaNDy Therapeutics Ltd. recently completed the Phase IIb with NT-814, a once-daily, oral neurokinin-1,3 receptor antagonist, publishing positive data for the treatment of frequent symptoms of the menopause, hot flashes and night sweats (vasomotor symptoms). The start of Phase III clinical trial is expected for 2021. Once approved, the compound could generate peak sales potential of more than EUR 1 billion globally.

Under the terms of the agreement Bayer will pay an upfront consideration of USD 425 million, potential milestone payments of up to USD 450 million until launch followed by potential additional triple digit million sales milestone payments. Closing is subject to customary conditions, in particular anti-trust approval, and is expected by September 2020.

Geert-Jan Mulder, MD, Managing Partner and co-founder at Forbion said, “We have been investors in KaNDy since 2017, having recognized the critical importance of the work that Mary and the team were doing in women’s health. We are delighted that Bayer has decided to acquire KaNDy and support the ongoing work around the symptoms of menopause.”

“Bayer has been our preferred partner due to its leading position in the area of women’s healthcare”, said Dr. Mary Kerr, Co-Founder and CEO of KaNDy Therapeutics. “We believe that under the ownership of Bayer, this potential groundbreaking medicine can be optimally developed to become an important non-hormonal treatment option for women suffering debilitating symptoms of the menopause.”

Morgan Stanley is serving as financial advisor to Bayer, while Linklaters is serving as legal counsel. Goldman Sachs International is serving as financial advisor to KaNDy Therapeutics Ltd., while Goodwin is serving as legal counsel.

Notes to Editors

About Forbion

Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands, Germany and Singapore. Forbion invests in life sciences companies that are active in the (bio-) pharmaceutical space. Forbion’s investment team has built an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with successful investments in over 66 companies. Forbion manages well over EUR 1.25 billion across ten funds.

Forbion is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Besides financial objectives, Forbion selects investments that will positively affect the health and well-being of patients.

Its investors include the EIF, through its European Recovery Programme (ERP), LfA, Dutch Venture Initiative (DVI), AMUF and EFSI facilities and KfW Capital through the Programme, “ERP – Venture Capital Fondsinvestments”.

Forbion operates a joint venture with BGV, the manager of seed and early-stage funds, especially focused on Benelux and Germany.

For more information, please visit: www.forbion.com.

About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2019, the Group employed around 104,000 people and had sales of 43.5 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.9 billion euros, R&D expenses to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

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About KaNDy Therapeutics

KaNDy Therapeutics Ltd. is a UK-based private clinical-stage biotech that was founded in 2017 as a spin-off from NeRRe Therapeutics Ltd. It is led by an experienced management team and backed by internationally recognised life sciences investors: Advent Life Sciences, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Forbion Capital Partners, OrbiMed and Longitude Capital. KaNDy Therapeutics is based at the state-of-the-art Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, a leading location for companies to develop and commercialise cutting edge therapeutics.

About NT-814

NT-814 is a non-hormonal, orally administered, potent and selective small molecule dual antagonist of both the neurokinin-1 and 3 receptors. NT-814 addresses vasomotor symptoms by modulating a group of oestrogen sensitive neurones in the hypothalamus in the brain (the KNDy neurones), that in menopausal women due to the absence of oestrogen, become hyperactive and consequently disrupt body heat control mechanisms resulting in the debilitating vasomotor symptoms of hot flashes and night sweats.

Contacts

KaNDy Therapeutics Ltd. contact:
Mary-Jane Elliott / Lindsey Neville / Carina Jurs

Email: kandyTherapeutics@consilium-comms.com

Forbion contact:
Geert-Jan Mulder, Managing Partner

P: +31 (0) 35 699 30 00

Instinctif Partners for Forbion
Melanie Toyne-Sewell/Genevieve Wilson/Kiki Zaccagnini

Email: forbion@instinctif.com