France's Transgene took a hit this morning after the biotech announced that Novartis ($NVS) had decided to pass on its option for the therapeutic cancer vaccine TG4010. But the CEO says he's laying the groundwork for a late-stage study, confident that he can find another partner.
Shares dropped more than 20% on the news that the pharma giant was passing up TG4010, which has been studied for non-small cell lung cancer. Novartis paid Transgene $10 million for the option way back in 2010, leaving a number of analysts skeptical about why the biotech would take a small upfront in a deal that left them responsible for paying for development of the drug. If Novartis had taken the option, Transgene would have been in line for a deal worth up to about $800 million in prospective milestones.
Novartis often doesn't pick up these options, though, which is likely going to raise even more questions for any future deals that pop up.
"Novartis's decision increases uncertainty around Transgene and the valuation will mainly rely on the ability to strike a new deal for TG4010," Bryan Garnier's Mathieu Chabert told Bloomberg. Cancer vaccines, though, haven't done well in the clinic.
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| Transgene CEO Philippe Archinard |
"We are committed to start a Phase 3 trial in advanced lung cancer as rapidly as possible as the data obtained with this cancer immunotherapy are compelling, and we are well financed to move our plans forward," says CEO Philippe Archinard. "In parallel, we will now be actively looking for a partner to co-develop and commercialize TG4010. A variety of global players active in the field of cancer immunotherapy have already expressed interest in the program."
- here's the release
- here's the Bloomberg report