Harmony Biosciences, a Plymouth Meeting-based pharmaceutical company, has entered into an exclusive licensing deal for the rights to develop and commercialize a new potential narcolepsy therapy, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Under the terms of the deal, valued at up to $393 million, the pharmaceutical company will pay $25.5 million to Bioprojet of France upfront for the rights to TPM-1116, its drug candidate, in the U.S. and Latin America territories.

Bioprojet could also receive up to $127.5 million if certain development and regulatory milestones are met, as well as up to $240 million if preset sales milestones are achieved. Additionally, Harmony will pay a royalty rate in the mid-teens on the sales of any approved medicine in the licensed territories.

According to Harmony CEO Dr. Jeffrey M. Dayno, TPM-1116 is a highly potent and selective oral orexin-2 receptor agonist that will be evaluated by his company as a potential treatment of narcolepsy, as well as other sleep/wake disorders.

An estimated 125,000 to 200,000 people in the U.S. are afflicted by narcolepsy.

This is not the first deal between Harmony and Bioprojet. The Montgomery County company acquired the rights to pitolisant, the active ingredient in its flagship drug Wakix, from Bioprojet in 2017.

Read more about Harmony Biosciences and its expanding portfolio of sleep disorder treatments at the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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