(Reuters) – Royalty Pharma said on Thursday it has purchased additional royalties on Roche and PTC Therapeutics’ oral spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) drug for an upfront payment of $1 billion.
Risdiplam, branded as Evrysdi, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2020 for the treatment of the disease in adults and children two months and above.
Spinal muscular atrophy, a leading genetic cause of infant deaths, prevents the body from producing a protein necessary for neuromuscular development.
The deal also includes options for PTC to sell up to all of its retained royalties on Evrysdi for up to $500 million at a later date, Royalty Pharma said.
Royalty Pharma expects to fund the transaction with a combination of existing cash and about $350 million from its revolving credit facility.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
