June 11 Quick Takes: Sobi licenses Selecta gout therapy; plus Viela’s first approval, CSL, BMS, Sirnaomics’ spinout, Denali- Sanofi

Sobi pays $100M up front for Selecta therapy
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (SSE:SOBI) licensed ex-China rights to SEL-212, a gout therapy from Selecta Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SELB). Selecta will receive $75 million up front and $25 million from a private placement by Sobi; Selecta is also eligible for up to $630 million in milestones plus tiered double-digit royalties. Selecta plans to start next half a Phase III trial of the recombinant uricase developed with its ImmTOR immune tolerance platform.

First approval for MedImmune spinout
FDA approved Uplizna inebilizumab-cdon from Viela Bio Inc. (NASDAQ:VIE) to treat neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in patients positive for anti-AQP4 antibodies. Viela CEO Bing Yao told BioCentury the company plans to launch the anti-CD19 mAb this month and price it at a fraction of the $700,000 annual price tag for Soliris eculizumab from Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN), the only other FDA-approved therapy for the indication. It is the first drug approved for Viela, which spun out of the MedImmune LLC subsidiary of AstraZeneca plc (LSE:AZN; NYSE:AZN) in 2018...