jessellivermore is quite right—GTC will pick its spots judiciously. GTC does not need to go head-to-head with CHO-cell manufacturers will nilly because there are plenty of cases where drugs either can’t be made in CHO cells or can’t be made in CHO cells economically. FVIIa is an example of the latter.
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Lets go over all of GTC's programs. For reasons stated below, Im pinning my hopes on the FOBs.
First, Factor VII (since you mentioned it already). Factor VII has to be manufactured in Vitamin K supplemented BHK cells due to its extraordinary difficult to express GLA domains. Yes it falls into the category of "difficult to express" (I would like to see the transgenic rabbit produced material's in vivo efficacy). Yes its a huge market. However it's all besides the point, Novo's 2nd generation FVIIa, NN1731 is coming down the pipe and MAXI goes into the clinic with their's next spring. The improved players are already in the clinic. I wouldn't pin your hopes too much on a 1st generation Factor VII at that point in time. Im not sure how you can call this a "judiciously picked spot". I dont see the Factor VII program panning out.
Second, there's Atryn. What is that going to bring in, 5-6 MM per year after the partnership? Thats a real blockbuster there. Oh I forgot, it's going to cure sepsis. My bad.
Then there's antitrypsin. What the heck is the indication?I read that its being licensed to a dermo for elsatase induced skin lesions. Hmmmm....ok. Sounds like another blockbuster.
What's next, albumin. Oh wait that program's been shelved too. Apparently you can produce metric tons of it in yeast.
So that leaves us with the mAbs and FOB's. I think this is where the company really has a lot of potential, both in terms of COGS and especially if this ADCC enhancement observation pans out. Unless you're betting on the sepsis indication for Atryn. While its tantalizing, Im not holding my breath on a subgroup analysis of the Kybersept study.
