Johnson & Johnson Buys Gene Therapy Eye Portfolio from MeiraGTx

Johnson & Johnson, through its Janssen Pharmaceuticals division, has acquired the rights to investigational gene therapy botaretigene sparoparvovec (bota-vec; formerly AAV-RPGR) for patients with the inherited retinal disease X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP) from MeiraGTx.

Under terms of the deal, MeiraGTx will receive $130 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments, plus an additional $285 million upon first commercial sales of bota-vec in U.S. and EU and manufacturing technology transfer.

“We are very happy to announce the execution of the agreements related to bota-vec for the treatment of XLRP, which provide us with significant near-term cash as well as cash upon potential approval and commercialization of this important gene therapy, and additional revenue from the commercial manufacture of bota-vec,” Alexandria Forbes, PhD, president and chief executive officer of MeiraGTx, said in a company news release. “The initial $130 million upfront and near-term milestone payments, combined with the $30 million investment we received from Sanofi in October, increases our cash runway to mid-2026, without including the additional $285 million in potential payments associated with this transaction.”

“This puts us in a strong financial position and allows us to increase our focus on our two late-stage clinical programs in Xerostomia and Parkinson’s disease and our leading end-to-end manufacturing capabilities, with potential strategic activities around each of these wholly-owned assets," Ms. Forbes said. "In addition, we continue to expedite the development of our Riboswitch gene regulation platform prioritizing targets in metabolic disease, immunology and oncology, which we believe have the potential to significantly alter outcomes in these broad disease areas and include several areas of interest from Sanofi following their investment earlier this quarter.”

Agreements related to bota-vec:

• MeiraGTx to monetize potential future royalties and milestones related to bota-vec with J&J acquiring remaining rights for development, manufacturing, and commercialization of bota-vec.
• MeiraGTx to receive $130 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments, including $65 million at signing, an additional $50 million anticipated in the first quarter of 2024, with the remaining $15 million in milestone payments expected later in 2024.
• MeiraGTx will receive up to an additional $285 million in cash payments upon first commercial sales of bota-vec in the U.S. and EU and for manufacturing technology transfer.
• J&J will be responsible for any royalty or milestone amounts that become payable on bota-vec to UCL Business plc (University College London).
• MeiraGTx has also entered into a commercial supply agreement with J&J for bota-vec manufacturing.