Inventiva receives a €3.5 m milestone payment from AbbVie

Daix (France), December 3, 2019 – Inventiva (Euronext: IVA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing oral small molecule therapies for the treatment of diseases in the areas of fibrosis, lysosomal storage disorders and oncology, today announced the receipt of a milestone payment of 3.5 million euros following  the inclusion of the first patient with psoriasis in the ongoing clinical study with ABBV-157, a RORy inverse agonist jointly discovered by AbbVie and Inventiva for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

The clinical study initiated by AbbVie with ABBV-157 is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in which patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis will be administered multiple oral doses of the drug candidate.

Frédéric Cren, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and cofounder of Inventiva, stated: “This new milestone is excellent news for Inventiva, especially as we have reached it much earlier than anticipated. We are excited by the results shown by ABBV-157 and extremely proud to collaborate with a partner as committed as AbbVie, which is a worldwide leader in autoimmune diseases and has the capabilities to make ABBV-157 a reference treatment.”

In 2012, Inventiva and AbbVie signed a multi-year drug discovery collaboration to identify potent RORγ inverse agonists for the treatment of several auto-immune diseases. Through this collaboration, Inventiva leverages its discovery expertise and technology platforms to develop drug candidates targeting the nuclear receptor RORy, a validated drug target for the treatment of cutaneous inflammatory disorders such as psoriasis. In the area of auto-immune diseases, Inventiva focuses its research and development on compounds that differentiate themselves by greater convenience, greater efficacy and potentially better safety/tolerability compared to biological agents, which are the current standard of care.

The collaboration between Inventiva and AbbVie entitles the Company to receive further milestone payments and royalties on future sales of ABBV-157.

About psoriasis

Psoriasis is a common skin disease with an estimated prevalence ranging from 0.9% to 8% of the world’s population, depending on the countries. In moderate and severe cases, psoriatic lesions can be uncomfortable, itchy and disfiguring. Although the precise pathophysiology of psoriasis is unknown, an abnormal cutaneous immunologic/inflammatory response, associated with epidermal hyper proliferation and abnormal differentiation, seems to be involved.

Current treatment of psoriasis is directed toward the alteration of epidermal differentiation, reducing the inflammatory response and slowing the growth of involved skin cells. The extent and severity of the disease typically determine the therapeutic approach. However, the current treatment of psoriasis can only provide skin clearance but not a cure. In mild psoriasis, the most commonly used therapy is topical with the addition of phototherapy in refractory cases. In moderate to severe psoriasis, phototherapy, systemic therapy, or a combination of the two is recommended. Systemic treatments include acitretin, cyclosporin and methotrexate, or biologic agents such as anti-TNFa.

About Inventiva

Inventiva is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of oral small molecule therapies for the treatment of diseases with significant unmet medical needs in the areas of fibrosis, lysosomal storage disorders and oncology.

Leveraging its expertise and experience in the domain of compounds targeting nuclear receptors, transcription factors and epigenetic modulation, Inventiva is currently advancing two clinical candidates – lanifibranor and odiparcil – in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (“NASH”) and mucopolysaccharidosis (“MPS”), respectively, as well as a deep pipeline of earlier stage programs.

Lanifibranor, its lead product candidate, is being developed for the treatment of patients with NASH, a common and progressive chronic liver disease. Inventiva is currently evaluating lanifibranor in a Phase IIb clinical trial for the treatment of this disease for which there are currently no approved therapies.

Inventiva is also developing odiparcil, a second clinical‑stage asset, for the treatment of patients with MPS, a group of rare genetic disorders. The Company is currently investigating odiparcil in a Phase IIa clinical trial for the treatment of patients with the MPS VI subtype.

In parallel, Inventiva is in the process of selecting an oncology development candidate for its Hippo signalling pathway program. Furthermore, the Company has established a strategic partnership with AbbVie in the area of autoimmune diseases. AbbVie has started the clinical development phase of ABBV‑157, a drug candidate for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis resulting from its collaboration with Inventiva. This collaboration entitles Inventiva to receive milestone payments upon the achievement of pre-clinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, in addition to royalties on any approved products resulting from this partnership.

The Company has a scientific team of approximately 70 people with deep expertise in the fields of biology, medicinal and computational chemistry, pharmacokinetics and pharmacology a well as in clinical development. It also owns an extensive library of approximately 240,000 pharmacologically relevant molecules, around 60% of which are proprietary, as well as a wholly‑owned research and development facility.

Inventiva is a public company listed on compartment C of the regulated market of Euronext Paris (Euronext: IVA – ISIN: FR0013233012).   

Contacts 

Inventiva

Frédéric Cren

Chairman & CEO



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Brunswick Group

Yannick Tetzlaff / Tristan Roquet Montegon / Aude Lepreux

Media relations



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LifeSci Advisors

Monique Kosse

Investor relations

Important Notice

This press release contains forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates with respect to the clinical development plans, business and regulatory strategy, and anticipated future performance of Inventiva and of the market in which it operates. Certain of these statements, forecasts and estimates can be recognized by the use of words such as, without limitation, “believes”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “intends”, “plans”, “seeks”, “estimates”, “may”, “will” and “continue” and similar expressions. Such statements are not historical facts but rather are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management's beliefs. These statements reflect such views and assumptions prevailing as of the date of the statements and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause future results, performance or future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual events are difficult to predict and may depend upon factors that are beyond Inventiva's control. There can be no guarantees with respect to pipeline product candidates that the candidates will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or that they will prove to be commercially successful. Therefore, actual results may turn out to be materially different from the anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements, forecasts and estimates. Given these uncertainties, no representations are made as to the accuracy or fairness of such forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates. Furthermore, forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates only speak as of the date of this press release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements.

Please refer to the “Document de référence" filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers on April 12, 2019 under n° R.19-006 for additional information in relation to such factors, risks and uncertainties.

Inventiva has no intention and is under no obligation to update or review the forward-looking statements referred to above. Consequently, Inventiva accepts no liability for any consequences arising from the use of any of the above statements.

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