Shares of Genmab skidded down about 10 percent this morning as investors got a chance to register their concern about Roche's announcement late Friday that it is exiting a deal to develop an antibody now in mid-stage trials.
Roche chalked up its decision to drop its support for RG1507--which targets IGF-1R--after scrutinizing the available data, other programs in the same field and the pharma company's portfolio priorities. Researchers had been studying RG1507 as a potential new therapy for sarcoma, non-small cell lung cancer and other oncology uses. Danish brokerage Jyske Bank said the news wasn't good for the Copenhagen-based biotech, but added that it had already discounted the program's limited value in considering Genmab's share potential.
"Despite this setback, Roche and Genmab continue to have a strong working relationship, with one shared aim of developing and providing novel efficacious agents to the patients that need them," said Lisa Drakeman, Ph.D., the CEO of Genmab.
- here's the Genmab release
- read the piece from Dow Jones
- check out the Reuters story