Barcelona and Tilburg, 20 October 2021 – Today, Ferrer, an international pharmaceutical company focused on pulmonary vascular and interstitial lung diseases and neurological disorders, and Treeway, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, announced they have entered into a licence agreement for the development and commercialisation of an oral formulation of edaravone (TW001/FNP122)[i] for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in certain territories, including Europe and some Asian countries. Under the terms of the licence agreement, Ferrer is responsible for advancing the development and commercialisation of the product and will make royalty payments to Treeway at certain milestones.
The deal leverages Ferrer’s strong capabilities and expertise in neurology to underscore both companies’ commitment to expanding global access to TW001/FNP122 for the treatment of ALS.
Inez de Greef, CEO at Treeway comments: “Guided by patients, we have developed TW001/FNP122 through the early stages of development. We are therefore delighted that Ferrer has committed to advance our lead product to the required pivotal phase III trial and make it available for ALS patients in large parts of the world.”
Oscar Pérez, Ferrer’s Chief BD&L Officer, adds: “Driven by our purpose of bringing transformative products to patients over the world, we are pleased to enter the agreement with Treeway and look forward to patients benefiting from improved treatment options. TW001/FNP122 is the perfect fit for Ferrer’s strategy to bring new molecules to late-stage clinical development, registration and market entry in the field of neurological disorders and strengthen our pipeline for the coming years.”
The agreement comes into play with immediate effect.
About ALS¹
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the most frequent motor neuron disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in progressive paralysis, with death typically within 2 to 5 years of diagnosis.
ALS is a rare disease with multifactorial etiology, and the precise pathogenic mechanism is still unknown. ALS typically occurs in people between 40-70 years old, slightly more men than women. It is caused by a multitude of factors: 10-15% familiar ALS, 85-90% sporadic ALS.
¹ Masrori and Van Damme; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a clinical review. European Journal of Neurology 2020, 27: 1918– 1929
About Ferrer
At Ferrer, we want to make a positive impact on society, and we do so by reinvesting a significant part of our profits in initiatives with social and environmental impact, as well as in our people.
To fulfill our purpose, we offer transformative therapeutic solutions, with an increasing focus on pulmonary vascular and interstitial lung diseases and neurological disorders. Founded in Barcelona in 1959, we are currently present in more than a hundred countries and have a team of over 1,800 people. Their empowerment, development and wellbeing are vital in ensuring that they are proud of working at Ferrer.
We are Ferrer. Ferrer for good.
About Treeway
Treeway is a clinical-stage biotechnology company with a mission to develop therapies to cure ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. Founded in 2012 by two ALS patients, Treeway is commited to developing the neurodegenerative disease drugs of tomorrow. Treeway’s research and development portfolio has a strong focus on ALS and Alzheimer’s Disease and is continuously looking to expand the therapeutic targets within the neurodegenerative diseases arena. Treeway’s pipeline has several therapies in development for ALS and has entered the clinical stage with a treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease
Treeway, Therapy development inspired by patients
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Gorka Ortiz de Zárate
Communications Advisor Ferrer
gortizdez@ferrer.com
(+34) 636 095 882
Aster van Oordt
Communication Manager Treeway
info@treeway.nl
+(31) 13 534 82 72
Emma Simms
Account Director BDB (Barret Dixon Bell)
ferrer@bdb.co.uk
(+44) 161 925 470