Benzinga | Jun 21, 2021 09:06AM EDT

Prometheus Biosciences Says Achieves Milestone Payment Of $10M From Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH

Prometheus Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RXDX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a precision medicine approach for the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapeutic and companion diagnostic products for the treatment of immune-mediated diseases, starting first with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), today announced it has received a $10 million milestone payment from Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH under its collaboration agreement to develop and commercialize Prometheus' second program, PR600. Prometheus has selected a clinical candidate for PR600, targeting an undisclosed member of the tumor-necrosis factor superfamily for the treatment of IBD and is initiating IND-enabling studies.

"Partnering with Dr. Falk on PR600 has enabled us to accelerate the PR600 program by sharing costs, resources, and drug development know-how, which has resulted in the achievement of this important milestone within the first year of our collaboration," said Mark McKenna, President and CEO of Prometheus. "We expect to file an Investigational New Drug Application for PR600 in the third quarter of 2022 and plan to explore its utility in other immune-mediated indications beyond IBD."

Under the collaboration agreement, which was executed in July 2020, Prometheus and Dr. Falk will share responsibility for the global development of PR600, with Dr. Falk contributing a certain portion of the external development costs associated with PR600 and its companion diagnostic. Dr. Falk acquired exclusive rights to commercialize PR600 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and Prometheus retains exclusive rights to commercialize PR600 in the United Stated and rest of world.