Vor Bio revives, thanks to $4bn+ licensing deal with RemeGen

US biotech Vor Bio has turned to China's RemeGen to revitalise its pipeline, paying $125 million upfront for rights to a drug already approved in its home market for multiple autoimmune diseases.

The licensing deal for BAFF/APRIL inhibitor telitacicept, which also includes regulatory and commercial milestones exceeding $4 billion plus royalties, was announced as Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Vor Bio revealed plans to raise $175 million via a private placement in public equity (PIPE) financing.

RemeGen already has approval in China for telitacicept as a treatment for generalised myasthenia gravis (gMG), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and has been advanced into a phase 3 trial in the US, Europe, and South America in gMG, with results due in 2027.

In a phase 3 gMG trial carried out in China, telitacicept showed a 4.8-point improvement in the Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) scale compared to placebo at 24 weeks, hitting its primary endpoint.

The deal marks something of a resurrection for Vor Bio, which announced in May that it was halting clinical and manufacturing operations, including ongoing studies of stem cell-based therapies for blood cancers, and seeking "strategic alternatives" as it slashed 95% of its headcount.

That hunt can sometimes signal the end of a biotech, but Vor Bio remained reasonably cash-rich, ending 2024 with $92 million in cash after raising $56 million in another PIPE last year.

The company, which was founded by UK group PureTech Health, has also named biopharma veteran Jean-Paul Kress as its new chief executive and chair, following the resignation of former CEO Robert Ang, who will remain as a strategic advisor to the company until October.

Kress – formerly CEO of MorphoSys, which was acquired by Novartis for $2.9 billion last year – said that the mission now is to "transform the company [into] a major player in autoimmune disease treatment."

He added: "Targeting BAFF/APRIL signalling with telitacicept represents a significant advancement in addressing autoantibody-driven diseases, which is highly differentiated from other modalities in this space. With a clinically advanced asset, we are uniquely positioned to develop this innovative therapy, with the goal of making a meaningful impact for patients living with autoimmune diseases around the world."

Vor Bio has negotiated rights to the recombinant fusion protein outside China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Shares in the company had been trading as low as 13 cents after its restructuring announcement, but rocketed on the licensing deal and were trading at 55 cents at the time of writing, giving the biotech a valuation of nearly $69 million.