US based Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel anti-infective therapies to treat life-threatening bacterial infections, has announced that it has consummated a licensing agreement with Serum AMR, an affiliate of Serum International BV (SIBV) and the Serum Institute of India, Ltd. The agreement grants Serum AMR a license to multiple programs from Aridis for certain limited territories and access the Company's MabIgX® platform technology for asset identification and selection.

As part of the agreement, Aridis will receive the remaining upfront cash payment of $10 million, which is in addition to the $5 million that was initially received when the companies signed an option agreement on July 30, 2019. Moving forward, Aridis is eligible for future milestone payments for achieving product development and commercial objectives, along with royalties on net sales.

"Establishing this licensing relationship with a leading monoclonal antibody developer with specific commercial expertise in emerging markets is an important milestone for the company as we continue to advance our pipeline of assets and identify new opportunities from the MabIgX® platform," commented Vu Truong, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Aridis Pharmaceuticals. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Serum AMR is granted a license to Aridis' clinical stage programs AR-301 (ventilator associated pneumonia), AR-105 (ventilator associated pneumonia), and AR-101 (hospital acquired pneumonia): these license rights will be exclusive and to a limited territory, which includes territories outside of the U.S., Europe, Canada, UK, China, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The option includes the right to acquire an exclusive, worldwide license (excluding China) to AR-201, a preclinical fully human mAb for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). In addition, under the agreement Serum AMR may elect to collaborate with Aridis to utilize MabIgX® to identify and advance up to 5 wholly-owned programs for the treatment of infectious diseases of import to the developing world. MabIgX® is Aridis' proprietary technology platform to rapidly identify rare, potent antibody-producing B-cells from directly from convalescent patients.

"As with our prior out-licensing transaction involving several of the company's mAb programs to Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceuticals for the China territory, this transaction allows for the introduction of innovative anti-infective therapies that are effective against antibiotic resistant infections to a broader area of the world where antimicrobial resistance is particularly high," concluded Dr. Truong.