Newly-Formed Arvelle Therapeutics Acquires Exclusive Rights from SK Biopharmaceuticals to Develop and Commercialize Cenobamate in Europe
SK Biopharmaceuticals and Arvelle Therapeutics GmbH today announced that they have entered into an exclusive licensing agreement for Arvelle to develop and commercialize cenobamate in Europe. Cenobamate is a novel, small molecule investigational antiepileptic drug for the potential treatment of partial-onset seizures in adult patients. Under the agreement, SK Biopharmaceuticals will receive an upfront payment of $100 million and is eligible to receive up to $430 million upon achievement of certain regulatory and commercial milestones in addition to royalties on net sales generated in Europe. SK Biopharmaceuticals will have an option to obtain a significant equity stake in Arvelle and will also retain commercial rights for all non-European territories. Cenobamate was discovered and developed by SK Biopharmaceuticals from inception through to the acceptance of a New Drug Application (NDA) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“We are very pleased to enter into this licensing agreement with Arvelle, as it provides important validation of the global potential for cenobamate as a new treatment option for adults with partial-onset seizures,” said Dr. Jeong Woo Cho, President and CEO of SK Biopharmaceuticals. “Arvelle’s experienced leadership team and focus on CNS disorders make them the ideal partner to advance the development and commercialization of our compound in Europe.”
Arvelle Therapeutics is a newly created company that received one of the largest initial financing commitments for a European-focused biopharmaceutical company from a global syndicate of investors that include NovaQuest, LSP, BRV Capital Management, Andera Partners, and H.I.G. BioHealth Partners. Mark Altmeyer has been named President and CEO of Arvelle. Altmeyer brings more than 30 years of global biopharmaceutical experience to Arvelle. As President and CEO of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc., Altmeyer oversaw the growth of Abilify® into a multi-billion-dollar product. Most recently, he served as President and Chief Commercial Officer of Axovant Sciences and previously led the neuroscience business unit at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Altmeyer is joined by a talented team of colleagues from Axovant with deep experience in CNS drug development and global commercialization. Arvelle intends to file a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for cenobamate for partial-onset seizures in adult patients based on the data generated from SK Biopharmaceuticals’ global clinical trial program.
“We launched Arvelle to bring truly innovative CNS products to patients suffering from serious neurological conditions and cenobamate is the perfect first pipeline product,” said Altmeyer. “Given the data generated in clinical trials and the FDA acceptance of the NDA, we believe cenobamate has the potential to be an important antiepileptic drug treatment option for adult patients suffering from partial-onset seizures. We appreciate the support and validation of our investors and are very enthusiastic about our potential in the European market.”
“We are very excited to invest in the talented team at Arvelle on this new venture,” said Martijn Kleijwegt, Managing Partner of LSP. “SK Biopharmaceuticals has done an excellent job on the discovery and development of cenobamate and we believe that Arvelle is the right company to gain EU approval for cenobamate and ultimately bring it to patients in Europe.”
About Cenobamate
Cenobamate (YKP3089) was discovered by SK Biopharmaceuticals and SK life science and is being investigated for the potential treatment of partial-onset seizures (also known as “focal seizures”) in adult patients. Cenobamate’s mechanism of action is not fully understood, but it is believed to work through two separate mechanisms: enhancing inhibitory currents through positive modulation of GABA-A receptors and decreasing excitatory currents by inhibiting the persistent sodium current.
Global trials for adults with partial-onset seizures are ongoing to evaluate cenobamate safety. An additional clinical trial is investigating cenobamate safety and efficacy for another form of epilepsy in adult patients.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the filing of the New Drug Application for cenobamate for the potential treatment of partial-onset seizures in adults in February 2019.
Cenobamate is not approved by the FDA, European Medicines Agency (EMA) or any other regulatory authorities. Safety and efficacy have not been established.
About SK Biopharmaceuticals
SK Biopharmaceuticals is focused on research and development of treatments for disorders of central nervous system (CNS) and cancer. SK Biopharmaceuticals is an affiliate of SK Group, the second largest conglomerate in Korea.
Currently, SK Biopharmaceuticals is conducting basic research for the development of innovative new drugs at its research center in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, Korea. Further, the company is pursuing global clinical development and direct marketing through its U.S. subsidiary SK Life Science, Inc., in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, USA.
SK Biopharmaceuticals has a pipeline of eight compounds in development for the treatment of CNS disorders including epilepsy, sleep disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, among others. The first product the company is planning to commercialize, cenobamate (YKP3089), is an investigational compound for the potential treatment of partial-onset seizures in adult patients. The NDA for cenobamate for the potential treatment of partial-onset seizures in adult patients is currently under review by the FDA. For more information, visit SK Biopharmaceuticals’ website at www.skbp.com/eng.
About Arvelle Therapeutics
Arvelle Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company with the mission of bringing innovative solutions to patients suffering from CNS disorders. Arvelle is responsible for the development and commercialization of cenobamate, an investigational antiepileptic drug, in the European market. Arvelle is headquartered in Switzerland and received one of the largest initial financing commitments for a European-focused biopharmaceutical company with investments from a global syndicate including NovaQuest Capital Management, LSP, BRV Capital Management, Andera Partners and H.I.G. BioHealth Partners. More information is available at http://arvelletx.com/.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190214005290/en/
Contact information
For Arvelle Therapeutics:
Mike Beyer, Sam Brown Inc.
mikebeyer@sambrown.com
312-961-2502
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Rimini Street to Report Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Results on February 19, 202626.1.2026 20:46:00 EET | Press release
Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI), the Software Support and Agentic AI ERP Company™, and the leading third-party support provider for Oracle, SAP and VMware software, today announced it will report earnings after market close on February 19, 2026. The company will host a conference call and webcast on that date to discuss the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2025 results and the 2026 outlook at 5:00 p.m. Eastern / 2:00 p.m. Pacific time. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260126188817/en/ Rimini Street to Report Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Results on February 19, 2026 A live webcast of the event will be available on Rimini Street’s Investor Relations site via the Rimini Street IR events link and directly via the webcast link. Dial-in participants can access the conference by dialing 1-800-836-8184. A replay of the webcast will be available for one year following the event. About Rimini Street, In
SES Acknowledges Fitch’s Rating Action and Reiterates Deleveraging Plan26.1.2026 20:07:00 EET | Press release
SES S.A. (“SES” or the “Company”), a leading space solutions company, acknowledges the credit rating action announced by Fitch today, which follows the release of SES’ Q3 2025 results and Intelsat integration update. SES continues to be rated investment grade by Fitch with a stable outlook. SES management reiterates that the Company continues to execute on its strategy with a clear plan to strengthen its key credit metrics over time. The Company also has a clear view of the multiple cash generating levers available to it that it believes can substantially support and accelerate the deleveraging plan. SES management will use these levers in a disciplined way and keep investors informed as they deliver on the strategic plan. Consistent with this plan, it remains management’s intention to delever, with a policy objective of reducing adjusted net leverage(1) to at least 3.0x or below. (1) Adjusted net leverage is defined as Adjusted Net Debt divided by Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted Net Debt is
A2RL Drone Championship Sets the Pace for AI in Autonomous Flight26.1.2026 19:17:00 EET | Press release
The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) Drone Championship delivered a decisive test of autonomous and human performance, as Technology Innovation Institute’s TII Racing set the fastest autonomous lap to win the AI Speed Challenge, while a human first-person-view (FPV) pilot, MinChan Kim – World FPV Champion, narrowly claimed victory in the Human vs AI finale. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260126735530/en/ A2RL Drone Championship Sets the Pace for AI in Autonomous Flight (Photo: AETOSWire) Organised by ASPIRE, the innovation acceleration arm of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), the event highlighted both the rapid progress of vision-based autonomy and the narrow margins that still separate human instinct from machine execution at speed. Held over two days on 21–22 January during UMEX, the A2RL Championship brought together leading AI research teams and world-class FPV pilots to compete a
Zayed Sustainability Prize Opens Global Call for Submissions for 2027 Cycle26.1.2026 17:25:00 EET | Press release
The Zayed Sustainability Prize, an affiliate of Erth Zayed Philanthropies and the UAE’s pioneering global award for sustainability and humanitarian innovation, has opened submissions for its 2027 cycle. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260126912976/en/ Winners of the 2026 Zayed Sustainability Prize (Photo: AETOSWire) The Prize carries forward the vision and legacy of the UAE’s founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, by supporting those advancing a more inclusive and sustainable world. Now in its 18th year and with a total of US $7.2 million in funds, the Prize invites small and medium enterprises, nonprofit organisations, and high schools to submit innovative solutions across six categories: Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action, and Global High Schools. Commenting on the launch of the 2027 submissions cycle, H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and
2026 Japan Prize: Two U.S. Scientists and One Japanese Scientist Awarded26.1.2026 16:00:00 EET | Press release
The Japan Prize Foundation announced the winners of the 2026 Japan Prize at 1:00 p.m. on 21 January 2026. Prof. Cynthia Dwork (USA) has been awarded the Japan Prize in the field of Electronics, Information, and Communication. Prof. Shizuo Akira (Japan) and Prof. Zhijian "James" Chen (USA) have been awarded the Japan Prize in the field of Life Sciences. For this year’s Japan Prize, Prof. Dwork is being recognized for her Contribution to leading research for building an ethical digital society, including differential privacy and fairness. Prof. Akira and Prof. Chen are being recognized for their Discovery of the nucleic acid sensing mechanism by the innate immune system. For the 2026 Japan Prize, the Foundation asked approximately 16,000 prominent scientists and engineers from around the world to nominate researchers working in this year’s fields. We received 107 nominations for the field of Electronics, Information, and Communication, and 185 nominations for the field of Life Sciences.
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom