Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

Portola Pharmaceuticals has found a partner for betrixaban (f/k/a/ PRT054021), an oral Factor Xa inhibitor in phase-2 whose clinical data have been tepid at best, IMHO (#msg-21106352). Moreover, there has been no reported progress on the betrixaban program in the past two years.

I presume that some Big Pharma has eyed the colossal potential market for new oral anticoagulants and decided it was necessary to get in somehow. JNJ, Bayer, PFE, BMY, AZN, Daiichi Sankyo, and Boehringer Ingelheim already have a dog in this hunt, so Portola’s partner is presumably somebody else.

LLY is a logical candidate insofar as LLY dumped its in-house FXa program last year (#msg-30965016). NVS, which is partnered with Portola on an antiplatelet drug (#msg-35545882) is another likely candidate, IMO.

The identity of the partner and, presumably, the terms of the partnership will be disclosed tomorrow before a CC at 11am ET:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Portola-Pharmaceuticals-to-prnews-1846263232.html?x=0&.v=1