The advisors on Santhera’s licensing agreement with Nxera

SIX-listed Santhera Pharmaceuticals has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with biopharma company Nxera Pharma for the development, manufacturing and commercialisation across Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand of Agamree, a prescription medicine used to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

In connection with the deal, Homburger advised Santhera. Daniel Häusermann led the Homburger team on the matter, working alongside Marco Rostetter (both corporate/M&A, capital markets) and Eduard De Zordi (financing, investment products, capital markets).

Santhera’s CLO, Oliver P. Kronenberg (pictured above), led the company’s in-house team throughout the agreement.

Moreover, Nxera worked with Orrick, which supported on the licence agreement with a US-based team led by David Schulmann, and with Swiss side Bär & Karrer, advising on the investment agreement under the leadership of Urs Kägi and Luca Jagmetti.

The deal

Pursuant to the agreement, Santhera accesses an upfront payment of USD 40 million from Nxera, including USD 30 million in cash and USD 10 million as an equity investment in Santhera.  

Nxera will work on securing regulatory approval for Agamree in the licensed territories, and will lead on related commercial and manufacturing activities across the involved regions.