Otsuka, Click Therapeutics to create therapy for mental illness

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announces that its U.S. holding company subsidiary Otsuka America, Inc, and Click Therapeutics, Inc. (Click) have signed a collaboration agreement for Otsuka and Click to develop and commercialize a prescription digital therapeutic for treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), with the intent to address unmet medical needs among this patient population and to improve outcomes.

This collaboration will leverage Click's demonstrated ability to discover and validate a software application and deploy it commercially, with Otsuka's expertise in developing approved prescription therapies for patients with serious mental illnesses, including Otsuka's established development and commercialization capabilities. The companies believe digital therapeutics align naturally with psychiatry and have significant potential to transform mental healthcare. Together, the companies aim to bring to market a new offering that will provide a novel treatment for patients with MDD.

Otsuka has agreed to commit capital to fully fund development of Click's novel mobile application 'CT-152' for MDD, and to commercialize this application world-wide upon achievement of regulatory approvals. Otsuka will pay Click up to $10 million in upfront and regulatory milestone payments, along with an estimated $20 million in development funding. An additional $272 million in commercial milestone payments are contingent upon regulatory approvals. In addition, Click will receive tiered, double-digit royalties on global sales of the software and the digital therapeutic applications that result.