Following a massive public increase last November, Kodiak Sciences reworked a royalty sales deal with a former partner – and turned down new funds in the process.

Kodiak Denies Scheduled $ 125 Million Payment From Baker Bros. Advisors, according to an SEC filing, ending a deal that saw biotechnology hand over a 4.5% royalty stream on its experimental anti-VEGF KSI-301 therapy for retinal vascular disease. Along with the move, Kodiak is lowering the royalty cap from just over $ 1 billion to $ 450 million.

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The deal called for Baker Bros. pays Kodiak $ 225 million in two installments, the first of which is a repayment of $ 100 million in early 2020. The remaining $ 125 million, which Kodiak turned down on Thursday, was originally due to arrive later this year . in late 2020, once Kodiak has achieved at least 50% recruitment in two pivotal clinical studies for KSI-301.

Kodiak hit expected milestones but still declined payments, according to the 8-K report. Biotechnology claims its “strong track record” following a November public offering that raised $ 612 million, prompting the denial of the additional $ 125 million, in addition to “clinical trial progress and capital resources “.

At the time, the move represented a big gamble for Baker Bros., putting money aside just months after Kodiak launched its first clinical trial for wet AMD. It’s a strategy the company had used in other investments as well, teaming up early on with Amarin and a biotechnology company developing a rival for its Vascepa drug, Matinas BioPharma.

Since then, however, Kodiak has significantly expanded its clinical program for the KSI-301. In the summer of 2020, the biotech launched two Phase III trials for the candidate in diabetic macular edema, as well as a third study on retinal venous occlusion. Data is expected for each study by the end of 2021.

Kodiak also plans to start recruiting for another Phase III study in nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy this summer. And executives expect to collect further data for the wet AMD indication, by charting a separate study here for treatment-naïve patients. Recruitment here will also begin this summer, and Kodiak has said it will include this data in its initial filing with the FDA.

If the candidate is ultimately approved, Kodiak would aim to drive out a market driven by the Regeneron Eylea blockbuster. Kodiak will, however, be competing with big names in pharmacy for this pie, as Novartis and Roche each enter the scene with their own drugs.

As Palo Alto, Calif. Based biotechnology sets the stage for this data to fall in succession, it sounds like the time when the royalty agreement was originally signed. Just one day after closing the deal, Kodiak began offering $ 250 million in shares on the public market.