a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing potentially best-in-class medicines for serious and rare diseases, today announced it entered into a royalty financing agreement with DRI Healthcare Acquisitions LP (DRI) and accelerated its timelines for the submission of the veligrotug BLA and the topline clinical data readouts of its VRDN-003 REVEAL trials in patients with thyroid eye disease (TED).
“We are excited to partner with DRI after a highly competitive royalty process. As we accelerate towards our anticipated commercial launches in TED, this significant non-dilutive capital puts us in an even stronger position,” said Steve Mahoney, Viridian’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Viridian team has consistently demonstrated its ability to execute, and this financing will help our plans to maximize the commercial opportunity of veligrotug and VRDN-003.”
Royalty Agreement
- DRI Royalty Financing: Viridian will receive up to $300 million, subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement, including:
- $55 million upfront payment upon execution of the agreement;
- $115 million in potential near-term milestones linked to the achievement of positive topline data in REVEAL-1 and REVEAL-2, phase 3 pivotal studies for VRDN-003, and U.S. veligrotug marketing approval;
- Viridian will pay DRI tiered royalties of 7.5% of annual U.S. net sales up to and including $600 million, 0.8% of annual U.S. net sales above $600 million and up to and including $900 million, 0.25% of annual U.S. net sales above $900 million and up to $2 billion, and no royalty owed for annual U.S. net sales in excess of $2 billion;
Proceeds expected to fully fund the anticipated commercial launches of both veligrotug and VRDN-003. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to Viridian.
Credit Facility
- Amended Hercules Capital Credit Facility: This amended agreement provides access to capital at Viridian’s discretion upon achievement of certain milestones, extends Viridian’s interest-free payment period, and replaces Viridian’s prior credit facility with Hercules. It provides up to $300 million in capital, including a $50 million drawdown required at closing, which provides immediate capital of $30 million after paying in full the prior facility’s outstanding amount.
Business Updates
- Veligrotug BLA submission accelerated; expect to submit to FDA imminently.
- Updating guidance for topline data readouts of Viridian’s phase 3 pivotal clinical trials evaluating VRDN-003, a subcutaneous, half-life-extended, low-volume, self-administered drug product candidate:
- REVEAL-1, in active TED patients is now expected to have topline clinical data available in Q1 2026; and
- REVEAL-2, in chronic TED patients is now expected to have topline clinical data available in Q2 2026.
About Viridian Therapeutics
Viridian is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing potential best-in-class medicines for patients with serious and rare diseases. Viridian’s expertise in antibody discovery and protein engineering enables the development of differentiated therapeutic candidates for previously validated drug targets in commercially established disease areas.
Viridian is advancing multiple candidates in the clinic for the treatment of patients with thyroid eye disease (TED). The company is conducting a pivotal program for veligrotug, including two global phase 3 clinical trials (THRIVE and THRIVE-2), to evaluate its efficacy and safety in patients with active and chronic TED. Both THRIVE and THRIVE-2 reported positive topline data, meeting all the primary and secondary endpoints of each study. Viridian is also advancing VRDN-003 as a potential best-in-class subcutaneous therapy for the treatment of TED, including two ongoing global phase 3 pivotal clinical trials, REVEAL-1 and REVEAL-2, to evaluate the efficacy and safety of VRDN-003 in patients with active and chronic TED.
In addition to its TED portfolio, Viridian is advancing a novel portfolio of neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) inhibitors, including VRDN-006 and VRDN-008, which has the potential to be developed in multiple autoimmune diseases.
