Spruce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRB) is engaged as a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, which is focused on the research, development and commercialization of therapies for rare endocrine disorders. Shares of the biopharma company are skyrocketing 90% through afternoon trading on Friday, January 6, 2023. Over the past three months, Spruce Biosciences has seen average daily volume of 122,300 shares. However, volume of 55.35 million shares or dollar volume of around $126.2 million, has already exchanged hands through afternoon trading.
Shares of Spruce Biosciences are soaring after the company announced it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Kaken Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., in which the two companies will work to develop and commercialize Spruce’s tildacerfont candidate for the treatment of congenial adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) in Japan.
Under the terms of the deal, Spruce Biosciences will receive an upfront payment of $15 million from Kaken and will be able to receive additional payments in the form of milestones, as well as tiered double-digit royalties on net sales in Japan.
In exchange, Kaken will have the first right of negotiation to expand the collaborative agreement to other geographies like China (Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau), South Korea, and other Southeast Asian countries. In addition, Kaken will be responsible for the clinical development and commercialization of tildacerfont in Japan. Spruce Biosciences will hold all rights to the drug candidate in all other geographies.
“We are excited to enter into this strategic partnership with Kaken Pharmaceutical designed to accelerate our global development plans and bring tildacerfont to patients in Japan who suffer from CAH,” said Javier Szwarcberg, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Executive Officer of Spruce Biosciences. “As a specialty pharmaceutical company with a strong presence in Japan, Kaken is the ideal strategic partner for the territory, and supports Spruce’s partnering strategy to develop tildacerfont in markets outside of the United States. We believe Kaken’s track record of development and commercialization in the Asia-Pacific region will be instrumental in delivering the full therapeutic potential of tildacerfont and bringing a new treatment option to CAH patients in Japan, if approved.”
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