LAVAL, QC, Jan. 9, 2018 /CNW/ - BELLUS Health Inc. (TSX: BLU) ("BELLUS Health" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical development company advancing novel therapeutics for conditions with high unmet medical need, today announced that it has received from Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Taro") a milestone payment of $400,000 in relation to the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Thallion") in March 2017.
On March 16, 2017, BELLUS Health entered into a share purchase agreement with Taro for the sale of Thallion, including all the rights to the drug candidate Shigamab™. As consideration, BELLUS Health received a cash payment of $2.3 million on closing and was entitled to receive a payment of $0.4 million upon the completion of a pre-established milestone event. In addition, BELLUS Health will receive a portion of certain potential future post-approval revenues related to the Shigamab™ program.
Payment to Thallion CVR Holders
In accordance with the terms of the agreements of the 2013 Thallion acquisition, 5% of the milestone payment received by BELLUS Health from the sale of Thallion, including the Shigamab™ technology (Shigamab™ Consideration), is payable to Contingent Value Rights (CVR) holders.
Accordingly, on January 26, 2018, a net amount of $14,721 ($0.00041 per CVR) will be paid to CVR holders of record on January 9, 2018, which consists of the Shigamab™ Consideration of $20,000 less $5,279 for CVR agent costs. CVR agent costs were deducted from the Shigamab™ Consideration in conformity with the terms of the agreements of the 2013 Thallion acquisition by BELLUS Health.
About BELLUS Health (www.bellushealth.com)
BELLUS Health is a biopharmaceutical development company advancing novel therapeutics for conditions with high unmet medical need. Its pipeline of projects includes the Company's lead drug candidate BLU-5937 for chronic cough and several other partnered clinical-stage drug development programs. BLU-5937, a selective P2X3 antagonist, has the potential to be a best-in-class therapeutic for chronic cough patients who do not respond to current therapies. Chronic cough is a cough that lasts more than eight weeks and is associated with significant adverse social, psychosocial and physical effects on quality of life. A recent commercial assessment performed by Torreya Insights on behalf of the Company concluded that, in the United States alone, more than 26 million adults have chronic cough and more than 2.6 million of these patients suffer from refractory chronic cough lasting for more than a year.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this news release, other than statements of fact that are independently verifiable at the date hereof, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and regulations. Such statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management, inherently involve numerous important risks, uncertainties and assumptions, known and unknown, many of which are beyond BELLUS Health Inc.'s control. Such risks factors include but are not limited to: the ability to expand and develop its project pipeline, the ability to obtain financing, the impact of general economic conditions, general conditions in the pharmaceutical industry, changes in the regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which BELLUS Health Inc. does business, stock market volatility, fluctuations in costs, changes to the competitive environment due to consolidation, achievement of forecasted burn rate, potential payments/outcomes in relation to indemnity agreements and contingent value rights, achievement of forecasted pre-clinical and clinical trial milestones and that actual results may vary once the final and quality-controlled verification of data and analyses has been completed. In addition, the length of BELLUS Health Inc.'s drug candidates' development process, their market size and commercial value, as well as the sharing of proceeds between BELLUS Health Inc. and its potential partners from potential future revenues, if any, are dependent upon a number of factors. Consequently, actual future results and events may differ materially from the anticipated results and events expressed in the forward-looking statements. BELLUS Health Inc. believes that expectations represented by forward-looking statements are reasonable, yet there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The reader should not place undue reliance, if any, on any forward-looking statements included in this news release. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and BELLUS Health Inc. is under no obligation and disavows any intention to update publicly or revise such statements as a result of any new information, future event, circumstances or otherwise, unless required by applicable legislation or regulation. Please see BELLUS Health Inc.'s public filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Annual Information Form, for further risk factors that might affect BELLUS Health Inc. and its business.
SOURCE BELLUS Health Inc.
please contact: François Desjardins, Vice-President, Finance, 450-680-4525, [email protected]
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