CSL will make an upfront payment of $US117 million ($175m) for the exclusive right to buy privately held VarmX BV, which is developing an emergency compound that restores normal coagulation for patients on blood thinners who end up experiencing life-threatening bleeding or need to undergo emergency surgery.
About 20 million people globally take the anticoagulants known as Factor Xa inhibitors, which are used to treat life-threatening blood clots and to lower a patient's risk of developing them after major surgery such as a hip replacement.
But about three per cent of those who take the pills - some 25,000 patients a week - experience prolonged bleeding or need emergency surgery where uncontrolled bleeding poses a critical challenge.
Because there is no fully approved treatment for these critical situations, VarmX's compound VMX-C001 has received what's known as fast-track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Administered by IV, VMX-C001 consists of proteins that have been modified to be insensitive to Factor Xa inhibitors and quickly restore a body's coagulation cascade.
It was developed by the Leiden University Medical Center's Professor Pieter Reitsma, an expert in haemostasis and thrombosis.
Under the partnership CSL will fund a global phase 3 clinical trial into VMX-C001 and would buy VarmX for $US388m ($582m) if the trial is successful.Â
"This new treatment will potentially address a clear and significant unmet medical need in a well-defined and growing patient population," said CSL chief executive Paul McKenzie.
"It also fits with our strategy of seeking more external partners to help accelerate our clinical and commercial pipeline through investments in validated, clinical-stage opportunities."
If all goes according to plan a commercial launch is expected in 2029.
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