Ascendis Pharma and Royalty Pharma Enter into $150 Million Royalty Funding Agreement

Rhea-AI Summary

Ascendis Pharma and Royalty Pharma have entered into a $150 million capped synthetic royalty funding agreement based on U.S. net sales of YORVIPATH. This deal supports the development and commercialization of Ascendis' Endocrine Rare Disease products, including the U.S. launch of YORVIPATH, the first FDA-approved treatment for hypoparathyroidism in adults.

Key terms of the agreement include:

• Ascendis receives a $150 million upfront payment
• Royalty Pharma gets a 3% royalty on U.S. net sales of YORVIPATH
• Royalty payments cease upon reaching a 2.0x multiple, or 1.65x if achieved by December 31, 2029

This transaction highlights YORVIPATH's value and Ascendis' strategy to reduce capital costs while maintaining flexibility in their global commercial capabilities.

Positive

• Secured $150 million in upfront funding to support YORVIPATH launch and other corporate purposes
• YORVIPATH is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for hypoparathyroidism in adults
• Agreement structure allows Ascendis to reduce cost of capital while maintaining commercial flexibility
• Royalty payments are capped, limiting long-term financial impact on Ascendis

Negative

• 3% royalty on U.S. net sales of YORVIPATH to be paid to Royalty Pharma
• Potential long-term revenue sharing if sales targets are not met quickly

Proceeds to support continued development and commercialization of Endocrine Rare Disease products, including the YORVIPATH® U.S. commercial launch, and general corporate purposes

COPENHAGEN, Denmark and NEW YORK, Sept. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ascendis Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ASND) and Royalty Pharma plc (Nasdaq: RPRX) today announced that Ascendis Pharma Bone Diseases A/S, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ascendis Pharma A/S, has entered into a $150 million capped synthetic royalty funding agreement with Royalty Pharma based on U.S. net sales of YORVIPATH.

“We are pleased to again partner with Royalty Pharma, a leading funder of innovation across the biopharma industry, as we launch YORVIPATH in the U.S. as the first and only FDA approved treatment of hypoparathyroidism in adults,” said Jan Mikkelsen, Ascendis Pharma’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This transaction reflects the significant value of YORVIPATH and our commitment to reduce our cost of capital while maintaining flexibility to support our global commercial capabilities.”

“We are delighted to expand our partnership with Ascendis and provide funding to support the launch of YORVIPATH, an important advancement in treating the underlying cause of hypoparathyroidism in adults,” said Pablo Legorreta, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Royalty Pharma. “This is now our second transaction with Ascendis, highlighting our partner centric approach and ability to structure creative, win-win funding solutions, which is a unique aspect of our business model.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Ascendis receives an upfront payment of $150 million in exchange for a 3% royalty on U.S. net sales of YORVIPATH. The royalty payments to Royalty Pharma will cease upon reaching a multiple of 2.0x, or 1.65x if Royalty Pharma receives royalties in that amount by December 31, 2029.

Evercore acted as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins and Mazanti-Andersen acted as legal advisors to Ascendis on the transaction. Goodwin Procter and Fenwick & West acted as legal advisors to Royalty Pharma.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S
Ascendis Pharma is applying its innovative TransCon technology platform to build a leading, fully integrated biopharma company focused on making a meaningful difference in patients’ lives. Guided by its core values of Patients, Science, and Passion, Ascendis uses its TransCon technologies to create new and potentially best-in-class therapies. Ascendis is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark and has additional facilities in Europe and the United States. Please visit ascendispharma.com to learn more. 

About Royalty Pharma plc
Founded in 1996, Royalty Pharma is the largest buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties and a leading funder of innovation across the biopharmaceutical industry, collaborating with innovators from academic institutions, research hospitals and non-profits through small and mid-cap biotechnology companies to leading global pharmaceutical companies. Royalty Pharma has assembled a portfolio of royalties which entitles it to payments based directly on the top-line sales of many of the industry’s leading therapies. Royalty Pharma funds innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry both directly and indirectly - directly when it partners with companies to co-fund late-stage clinical trials and new product launches in exchange for future royalties, and indirectly when it acquires existing royalties from the original innovators. Royalty Pharma’s current portfolio includes royalties on more than 35 commercial products, including Vertex’s Trikafta, GSK’s Trelegy, Roche’s Evrysdi, Johnson & Johnson’s Tremfya, Biogen’s Tysabri and Spinraza, AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson’s Imbruvica, Astellas and Pfizer’s Xtandi, Novartis’ Promacta, Pfizer’s Nurtec ODT and Gilead’s Trodelvy, and 16 development-stage product candidates.

Ascendis Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release regarding Ascendis’ future operations, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. Examples of such statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to (i) Ascendis’ expectations regarding its use of proceeds; (ii) Ascendis’ commitment to reduce its cost of capital while maintaining flexibility to support its global commercial capabilities, (iii) Ascendis’ ability to apply its TransCon technology platform to build a leading, fully integrated biopharma company, and (iv) Ascendis’ use of its TransCon technologies to create new and potentially best-in-class therapies. Ascendis may not actually achieve the plans, carry out the intentions or meet the expectations or projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions, expectations and projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements. Various important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that Ascendis makes, including the following: dependence on third party manufacturers, distributors and service providers for Ascendis’ products and product candidates; unforeseen safety or efficacy results in Ascendis’ development programs or on-market products; unforeseen expenses related to commercialization of any approved Ascendis products; unforeseen expenses related to Ascendis’ development programs; unforeseen selling, general and administrative expenses, other research and development expenses and Ascendis’ business generally; delays in the development of its programs related to manufacturing, regulatory requirements, speed of patient recruitment or other unforeseen delays; Ascendis’ ability to obtain additional funding, if needed, to support its business activities; the impact of international economic, political, legal, compliance, social and business factors. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to Ascendis’ business in general, see Ascendis’ Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 7, 2024 and Ascendis’ other future reports filed with, or submitted to, the SEC. Forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future licensing, collaborations, acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures, or investments that Ascendis may enter into or make. Ascendis does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Royalty Pharma Forward-Looking Statements
The information set forth herein does not purport to be complete or to contain all of the information you may desire. Statements contained herein are made as of the date of this document unless stated otherwise, and neither the delivery of this document at any time, nor any sale of securities, shall under any circumstances create an implication that the information contained herein is correct as of any time after such date or that information will be updated or revised to reflect information that subsequently becomes available or changes occurring after the date hereof.

This document contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements that express the company’s opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or projections regarding future events or future results, in contrast with statements that reflect historical facts. Examples include discussion of Royalty Pharma’s strategies, financing plans, growth opportunities and market growth. In some cases, you can identify such forward-looking statements by terminology such as “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “plan,” “seek,” “project,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could” or “should,” the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to the company. However, these forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of Royalty Pharma’s performance, and you should not place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to many risks, uncertainties and other variable circumstances, and other factors. Such risks and uncertainties may cause the statements to be inaccurate and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Many of these risks are outside of the company’s control and could cause its actual results to differ materially from those it thought would occur. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date hereof. The company does not undertake, and specifically declines, any obligation to update any such statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any such statements to reflect future events or developments, except as required by law.

Certain information contained in this document relates to or is based on studies, publications, surveys and other data obtained from third-party sources and the company’s own internal estimates and research. While the company believes these third-party sources to be reliable as of the date of this document, it has not independently verified, and makes no representation as to the adequacy, fairness, accuracy or completeness of, any information obtained from third-party sources. In addition, all of the market data included in this document involves a number of assumptions and limitations, and there can be no guarantee as to the accuracy or reliability of such assumptions. Finally, while the company believes its own internal research is reliable, such research has not been verified by any independent source.

For further information, please reference Royalty Pharma’s reports and documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") by visiting EDGAR on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Ascendis, Ascendis Pharma, the Ascendis Pharma logo, the company logo, TransCon, and YORVIPATH® are trademarks owned by the Ascendis Pharma group. © September 2024 Ascendis Pharma A/S.

Investor Contacts:	Media Contact:
Tim Lee	Melinda Baker
Ascendis Pharma	Ascendis Pharma
+1 (650) 374-6343	+1 (650) 709-8875
tle@ascendispharma.com	media@ascendispharma.com
ir@ascendispharma.com
Patti Bank ICR Westwicke +1 (415) 513-1284 patti.bank@westwicke.com
Royalty Pharma Investor Contacts: +1 (212) 883-6772 ir@royaltypharma.com

FAQ

What is the value of the royalty funding agreement between Ascendis Pharma and Royalty Pharma?

The royalty funding agreement between Ascendis Pharma and Royalty Pharma is valued at $150 million.

What is YORVIPATH and what is it used to treat?

YORVIPATH is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for hypoparathyroidism in adults.

What percentage royalty will Royalty Pharma receive on YORVIPATH U.S. net sales?

Royalty Pharma will receive a 3% royalty on U.S. net sales of YORVIPATH.

When will the royalty payments to Royalty Pharma cease?

Royalty payments will cease upon reaching a multiple of 2.0x, or 1.65x if Royalty Pharma receives royalties in that amount by December 31, 2029.

How will Ascendis Pharma (ASND) use the funds from this agreement?

Ascendis Pharma will use the funds to support the development and commercialization of Endocrine Rare Disease products, including the U.S. commercial launch of YORVIPATH, and for general corporate purposes.