A year after taking a 17% stake in microbiome specialist Seres Therapeutics Inc., Nestle SA’s Nestle Health Science SA division (NHSc) has acquired rights outside of the US and Canada to four of Seres’ gastrointestinal product candidates. The transaction is noteworthy for both parties. Seres secures one of the biggest up-front payments in several years for an ex-US product license of an unapproved set of drug candidates outside of cancer. NHSc strengthens its brand by demonstrating its continuing commitment to adding therapeutic nutrition products to its GI franchise – an area where previous pharmaceutical development efforts through partners have yet to succeed.
Under the agreement, signed in January, NHSc gains commercial rights to Seres’ lead biologic, SER-109, for treating multiply recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI); SER-262 for primary CDI; and the inflammatory...
