Benzinga | May 17, 2021 01:23PM EDT

Milestone Pharma-Ji Xing Pharma Ink $127M Etripamil Development Agreement For China

* Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: MIST) hit a major snag last March when its investigational etripamil nasal spray for episodes of rapid heart rate missed the primary endpoint.

* A year later, it's touting new data on its secondary endpoints and a partnership with Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals to develop the candidate in China for paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) and additional cardiovascular conditions.

* Ji Xing is paying $15 million upfront and making a $5 million equity investment for the rights to develop and commercialize etripamil, a fast-acting calcium channel blocker, in Greater China.

* The agreement involves milestone payments of up to $107.5 million.

* At ACC 2021, Milestone said etripamil had higher scores than placebo related to relief of specific symptoms associated with PSVT, including rapid pulse (p=0.002), palpitations (p<0.001), shortness of breath (p=0.008), dizziness (p=0.012), and anxiety (p=0.006).

* In addition, a 51% reduction (p=0.051) in need for an emergency room (ER) visit and a 47% prolongation (p<0.05) in time to ER intervention was observed in patients who received etripamil versus placebo.

* Price Action: MIST shares are down 0.9% at $5.50 during the market session on the last check Monday.