Esperion, Athyrium Capital enter $50M royalty financing agreement

Athyrium Capital and Esperion (ESPR) announced the entry into a $50M royalty financing agreement under which certain funds managed by Athyrium Capital Management will acquire 100% of Esperion’s royalty interest, held by Esperion pursuant to that certain license and collaboration agreement, dated as of April 17, 2020, as amended, by and among Esperion and Otsuka Pharmaceutical, of Otsuka’s net sales of bempedoic acid products in Japan from and after January 1, together with related regulatory and commercial milestone payments, subject to a cap. Under the terms of the financing agreement, the Athyrium Funds will receive tiered royalties on net sales of Otsuka’s bempedoic acid products in Japan from and after January 1, ranging from 12% to 33%, as well as associated regulatory and commercial milestone payments, until they have received aggregate payments equal to 2.0x their investment. Thereafter, all future royalties on Japan net sales of Otsuka’s bempedoic acid products and related milestone payments will revert to Esperion. The transaction provides Esperion with non-dilutive capital to support its recent acquisition of Corstasis Therapeutics, a privately-held, commercial-stage cardiovascular company whose lead asset, Enbumyst, is the first and only FDA-approved intranasal loop diuretic for treatment of edema associated with cardiovascular and hepatic and renal disease. This transaction represents the Athyrium Funds’ second financing with Esperion in the past 16 months, following investment in the $150M senior secured loan facility that closed in December 2024, and underscores the Athyrium Funds’ continued support of Esperion.