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By Meg Flippin, Benzinga
RedHill Biopharma Ltd. (NASDAQ: RDHL), a specialty biopharmaceutical company, won a significant legal and financial victory, announcing a summary judgment in its favor and an award of about $8 million plus costs in its New York Supreme Court case against Kukbo Co. Ltd. of South Korea.
RedHill Biopharma sued Kukbo over a breach of contract related to opaganib, the company’s first-in-class orally administered sphingosine kinase-2 (SPHK2) selective inhibitor with anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antiviral activity, targeting multiple indications. Opaganib has several U.S. government and academic collaborations in place for development for radiation and chemical exposure indications such as Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS), a phase 2/3 program for hospitalized COVID-19, and a phase 2 program in oncology.
Breach Of Contract At The Heart Of Lawsuit
The lawsuit stemmed from Kukbo’s failure to make agreed payments to RedHill pursuant to a subscription agreement signed on Oct. 25, 2021, and a subsequent exclusive license agreement inked on March 14, 2022. The two were working to develop opaganib for COVID.
The Supreme Court of the State of New York ruled in favor of RedHill Biopharma and, in a summary judgment, ordered Kukbo to pay $8 million, consisting of $6.5 million plus interest amounting to approximately $1.5 million, plus costs. The court dismissed Kukbo’s counterclaims. Kukbo has a right to seek an appeal of the judgment, which may or may not be granted. RedHill intends to pursue its attorneys' fees and collection of the judgment.
"RedHill thanks the Court for this crystal-clear judgment, affirming the company's just position from the beginning of the relationship and in making correct provision for full reparation for the contractual breaches,” said Dror Ben-Asher, RedHill’s CEO.
Once collected, the summary judgment will give RedHill more cash to develop its pipeline and eliminates a potential overhang on the stock. TipRanks called the ruling a “significant financial victory,” one that highlights RedHill’s adherence to contractual agreements. TipRanks said the end to litigation could boost investor confidence in the company.
The positive ruling comes as RedHill Biopharma is making progress in developing opaganib for infectious diseases such as Ebola. Recently, RedHill announced that the U.S. government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a center of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), had selected opaganib for development to treat exposure to Ebola virus disease (EBOV).
Under the cost-sharing agreement with BARDA, BARDA will provide partial funding for RedHill to further advance opaganib to mitigate infections and contain EBOV outbreaks. In an in vivo EBOV study with the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, RedHill Biopharma said opaganib delivered a statistically significant increase in patient survival time when given at 150 mg/kg twice a day. RedHill Biopharma said it’s the first host-directed molecule to show activity in EBOV. Several other U.S. government countermeasures and pandemic preparedness programs have also selected opaganib for evaluation for multiple indications, reports the company.
With litigation in the rearview mirror and RedHill Biopharma making progress in developing opaganib, interested investors may want to pay attention to what’s next from this specialty biopharmaceutical company.
Featured photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash.
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