RE: Notes from Myles McNulty's Research5 Oct 2024 14:44
Cells (i.e. an immunotherapy). At the time of the acquisition announcement, magrolimab was in the middle of a Phase 1b clinical trial. - Merck acquires VelosBio for $2.8 billion 13 In November 2020, Merck announced that it would be acquiring VelosBio for $2.75 billion in cash. At the time, VelosBio’s lead investigational candidate – VLS-101, an antibody-drug conjugate targeting ROR1 – was being evaluated in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of patients with haematological malignancies and solid tumours, respectively. [The P2 trial had commenced only in October 2020.] - Boehringer Ingelheim acquires NBE Therapeutics for €1.2 billion 14 In December 2020, Boehringer Ingelheim announced that it would be acquiring NBE-Therapeutics for €1.18 billion. NBE-Therapeutics’s lead compound, an antibody-drug conjugate named NBE-002, was in the middle of a Phase 1 clinical trial. - Pfizer acquires Trillium Therapeutics for $2.3 billion 15 In August 2021, Pfizer agreed to acquire Trillium Therapeutics for $2.26 billion in cash. Trillium had two lead candidates – both next-generation, investigational immuno-therapeutics for haematological malignancies – in Phase 1b/2 trials. The target launch date for both drugs (assuming successful clinical development) is 2026. Phase 3 acquisitions: - Gilead acquires Immunomedics for $21 billion 16 In September 2020, Gilead agreed to acquire NASDAQ-listed Immunomedics for $21 billion in cash. Immunomedics’ lead product is a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate, branded Trodelvy. Following a successful Phase 3 trial, Immunomedics had been granted FDA approval in April 2020 for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer who have received at least two prior therapies for metastatic disease. At the time of the acquisition, Immunomedics had only generated sales of $20m from Trodelvy (it had, after all, only just gone on market). The deal valued Immunomedics at over 5x peak sales of $4 billion, which was estimated to be reached in 2029. - GlaxoSmithKline acquires Sierra Oncology for $1.9 billion 17 In April 2022, GSK reached an agreement to acquire NASDAQ-listed Sierra Oncology for $1.9 billion in cash. Sierra’s lead candidate, momelotinib, is a JAK inhibitor for the treatment of myelofibrosis (an uncommon type of bone marrow cancer). It announced positive results from its Phase 3 trial in January of this year, and is awaiting FDA approval. “ 21 [For a comprehensive list of billion dollar dealmaking in the oncology world in 2020 and 2021 – including both licensing deals and acquisitions – please see the footnote below.18] When considering how Avacta may be valued against its peers, it is vital to keep in mind that pre|CISION is a platform technology. Not only that, but it is a delivery platform technology, that happens to be highly agnostic with regards to the classes of drug it could be primed to modify and deliver. This means that it is immensely sca