Benzinga | Mar 17, 2021 07:19AM EDT

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Announces Exclusive Licensing Agreement With Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. To Develop And Commercialize VP-102 For Molluscum And Common Warts In Japan; Torii To Make Upfront Payment Of $11.5M And Up To $58M Milestone Payments

WEST CHESTER, Pa., March 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Verrica) (NASDAQ:VRCA), a dermatology therapeutics company developing medications for skin diseases requiring medical interventions, announced today that it has entered into a License Agreement with Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Torii) granting Torii an exclusive license to develop and commercialize Verrica's product candidates for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum and common warts in Japan, including Verrica's lead product candidate VP-102, which is currently under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review for the treatment of molluscum, with a PDUFA goal date of June 23, 2021.



"We are pleased to partner with Torii and expand VP-102, which could potentially be the first product approved in the United States to treat molluscum, to global markets. The prevalence of molluscum contagiosum alone in Japan was approximately 1.6 million cases in 2017," said Ted White, Verrica's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe Torii has the expertise and commercial infrastructure to develop and commercialize VP-102 in Japan and successfully bring VP-102 to patients with molluscum and common warts. We look forward to embarking on this partnership."

"We are excited to partner with Verrica and add VP-102 to Torii's growing portfolio of products to treat dermatologic skin diseases with significant unmet need," said Goichi Matsuda, Torii's Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer. "VP-102 has the potential to alleviate the burden of molluscum and common warts for patients in Japan. We look forward to partnering with Verrica and developing VP-102 for the Japanese market."

In August 2020 Verrica entered into an Option Agreement with Torii granting Torii an exclusive option to acquire an exclusive license to develop and commercialize Verrica's product candidates for the treatment of molluscum and common warts in Japan, including VP-102. Torii exercised its option to acquire the exclusive license on March 2, 2021. Under the terms of the License Agreement, Torii will make an up-front payment of $11.5 million and up to an additional $58 million in aggregate payments contingent on achievement of specified development, regulatory, and sales milestones, in addition to tiered transfer price payments for supply of product in the percentage range of the mid-30s to the mid-40s of net sales. Torii is responsible for all development activities and costs in support of obtaining regulatory approval in Japan.