Allergan plc acquires rights to muscarinic receptor agonists for neurological disorders from Heptares/Sosei and with it HTL 9936 and HTL 18318 in Phase I development

Allergan plc a leading global pharmaceutical company, and Heptares Therapeutics, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Sosei Group Corporation announced that Allergan's wholly-owned subsidiary, Allergan Pharmaceuticals International Limited and Heptares have entered into a definitive agreement under which Allergan will license exclusive global rights to a broad portfolio of novel subtype-selective muscarinic receptor agonists in development for the treatment of major neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Under the terms of the agreement, Heptares will receive an upfront payment of $125 million and is eligible to receive contingent milestone payments of up to approximately $665 million associated with the successful Phase 1, II and III clinical development and launch of the first three licensed compounds for multiple indications and up to approximately $2.5 billion associated with achieving certain annual sales thresholds during the several years following launch. In addition, Heptares is eligible to receive up to double-digit tiered royalties on net sales of all products resulting from the partnership. Allergan is also committing up to $50 million to a research and development program to be conducted jointly by Allergan and Heptares aimed at advancing multiple candidates through Phase II clinical studies. Allergan will be responsible for the development of licensed compounds upon initiation of Phase IIb studies and for subsequent manufacturing and commercialization of the products. The agreement covers first-in-class selective small molecule agonists targeting muscarinic M1 and M4 receptors in the brain, discovered using Heptares' proprietary StaR technology platform. Allergan will receive exclusive rights to a broad clinical and preclinical portfolio of M1, M4 and dual M1/M4 agonists, including HTL 9936 and HTL 18318, selective M1 agonists currently in Phase 1 clinical development.