CSL strikes rare disease drug deal worth up to $1.6 billion with Swiss firm Alentis

Oct 5 — Australia's CSL said on Monday it had entered into an agreement ​with Swiss drugmaker Alentis Therapeutics to co-develop and co-promote a treatment for rare kidney and liver diseases, in a deal worth up ‌to $1.6 billion, excluding development funding.

Under the partnership, CSL will make an upfront payment of $355 million, while ⁠Alentis is eligible for up to $1.2 ​billion in commercial milestone payments.

CSL shares ⁠rose as much as 1.3% to A$177.550, while the broader benchmark ASX ‌200 index was up ‌0.6% as of 0005 GMT.

The deal gives the Australian biotech ⁠giant rights to jointly develop and commercialise ⁠lixudebart, a potential first-in-class treatment being studied for rare kidney and liver diseases.

Lixudebart, formerly known as ALE.F02, is currently in a Phase 2 trial for a rare autoimmune kidney disease that can cause irreversible kidney damage and end-stage renal disease.

The US Food and Drug Administration granted the drug ‌orphan status in 2024, which is intended to ​encourage development of treatments for rare diseases.

Once commercialised, global profits from the drug will be shared 55% to CSL and 45% to Alentis.

"The markets are treating this as good news, but not enough on its own to change the fortunes of the company," said Kyle Rodda, a senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

"Although this news creates upside risks to future earnings, ​it's probably not enough to improve the company's long-term growth outlook."

CSL, once Australia's ‌most valuable listed ‌company, has faced ⁠investor pressure in recent months after unveiling plans to cut up to 3,000 jobs, downgrading earnings guidance, and delaying the spin-off of its Seqirus vaccines business.

Early this year, the CSL stock hit its lowest level since 2017 after the ‌US Pentagon's decision to scrap ​a flu-shot mandate for military personnel added ‌to concerns about growth ⁠prospects and ​demand for its vaccines business.

(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Nia Williams and ​Rashmi Aich)

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