U.S. based Pharma Company Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that it has licensed a second orally delivered Generation 2.5 antisense drug to Janssen Biotech, Inc. (Janssen) for which Ionis earned $5 million.

IONIS-JBI2-2.5Rx is designed to locally reduce the production of an undisclosed target in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract for the treatment of a GI autoimmune disease. Jansen will now assume all global development, regulatory, and commercialization responsibilities for IONIS-JBI2-2.5Rx for GI diseases.

Under its global collaboration agreement with Janssen, Ionis is eligible to receive nearly $800 million in development, regulatory and sales milestone payments and license fees.

In addition, Ionis will receive tiered royalties that on average are double-digits on sales from any product that is successfully commercialized. IONIS-JBI1-2.5Rx, the first collaboration target, was licensed to Janssen last year and Janssen has assumed all global development, regulatory and commercialization responsibilities related to this drug.

Ionis is RNA-targeted drug discovery and development company focused on developing drugs for patients who have the highest unmet medical needs, such as those patients with severe and rare diseases.

Frank Bennett, senior vice president of research at Ionis Pharmaceuticals said, “We are pleased that IONIS-JBI2-2.5Rx is advancing into development because we believe this drug has the potential to treat autoimmune disorders in the GI tract that are underserved with current therapies. Our collaboration with Janssen has been very productive. This is the second drug Janssen has licensed in little over a year, which is the direct result of the speed and efficiency of our antisense technology."