By Chelsey Dulaney
Ardelyx Inc. (ARDX) said Wednesday it will pay AstraZeneca PLC
(AZN, AZN.LN) at least $25 million to take back the rights to its
experimental drug, tenapanor, and begin testing it for treatment of
irritable bowel syndrome.
The decision comes about a month after Ardelyx announced that
tenapanor failed to meet the primary endpoint of a mid-stage
clinical trial in patients with Stage 3 chronic kidney disease with
Type 2 diabetes mellitus and albuminuria.
AstraZeneca will get an upfront payment of $15 million and $10
million in research and development costs, as well as the potential
for royalty and other payments up to $90 million.
Ardelyx and AstraZeneca partnered in 2012 to develop and
commercialize the drug.
Ardelyx now plans to launch a late-stage clinical program for
tenapanor in patients with constipation-predominant irritable bowel
syndrome in the fourth quarter of the year. The company reported
positive results in October from a mid-stage clinical trial for
that indication.
Separately, Ardelyx said Wednesday it also plans to start
clinical trials for a new experimental drug, RDX022, this year for
treatment of elevated potassium, or hyperkalemia.
The company plans to sell $77.8 million in stock and warrants
through a private placement to fund development of the two
drugs.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at chelsey.dulaney@wsj.com
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