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Ovid Starts Neurology Spree With AstraZeneca Deal

 
• By Alaric DeArment

The company is using proceeds from last year’s handover of its lead epilepsy program to Takeda to fuel a push in neurology development.

Epilepsy brain
Ovid announced an in-licensing deal with AstraZeneca for a library of KCC2 transporter-targeting drugs • Source: Shutterstock

Ovid Therapeutics, Inc. is kicking off the new year with a multimillion-dollar licensing deal with AstraZeneca PLC that Ovid CEO Jeremy Levin said is one component of a broader development strategy in neurology, which it is financing with the help of an out-licensing agreement in early 2021 with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

The company said on 3 January that it had licensed from AstraZeneca a library of early-stage small molecule drugs that target the KCC2 transporter; the preclinical OV350 is the lead candidate, and has potential applicability in epilepsies and other disorders. The deal includes an upfront payment of $5m in cash and $7

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