Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Concert Pharmaceuticals entered an exclusive license agreement that provides Jazz worldwide rights to develop and commercialize Concert’s deuterium-modified sodium oxybate (D-SXB) compounds, including C-10323. Sodium oxybate is the active ingredient in Xyrem®, a prescription medicine marketed in the U.S. by Jazz to treat two of the key symptoms of narcolepsy.
Under the agreement, Jazz will have principal responsibility for ongoing development activities. Concert will receive an up-front payment and is eligible to receive additional milestone payments as well as tiered royalties based on potential worldwide sales of any D-SXB products.
“Preclinical data indicate that selective deuterium incorporation can stabilize sodium oxybate in vivo and we are eager to see how this improvement in metabolic properties is reflected in the clinical performance of D-SXB,” said Roger Tung, Ph.D., president and CEO of Concert Pharmaceuticals.
Through Concert’s DCE Platform® (Deuterated Chemical Entity), the company has developed a number of deuterium-containing analogs of sodium oxybate. C-10323 has emerged as the lead compound based on in vivo preclinical testing that demonstrated prolonged pharmacokinetic profile and reduced variability as a result of its specific deuterium modification pattern. The companies plan to submit an investigational new drug application for C-10323 later this year.
