Avid Bioservices Inc (CDMO)

[biopharm]

Partnering with Peregrine possibilities: The chess match among BP's ( added #8 Transcelerate )

1) AstraZeneca (AZN_)

http://www.astrazeneca.com.au/home/

Likely suitor out of Europe given its desperation for new pipeline drugs.


2) Celgene (CELG)

http://celgene.com/index.aspx?gclid=CMWKjsbg47QCFYp_6wodHSEAoQ

... thanks to BioBS2012 for link below found on a tweet by AF.

http://documents.bcg.com/BCG_Licensing_2012-GENERAL-vFinal.pdf


3) Novartis (NVS)

http://www.novartis.com/

Is a maybe, except for the bad taste left in its mouth from the Antisoma partnership that ended in failure in 2010. Antisoma's lung cancer drug was similar to Peregrine's in that they both target lung cancer blood vessels. Does Novartis want to go down this route again?


4) Merck KGaA

http://www.merckgroup.com/en/investors/merck_at_a_glance/merck_at_a_glance.html

Merck seems to love lung cancer immunotherapy (was tied down to Oncothyreon (ONTY) but "Stimuvax, an experimental cancer immunotherapy from Merck KGaA and Oncothyreon (ONTY_), failed to improve survival in a late-stage study of non-small cell lung cancer patients, the companies announced Wednesday."

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11796493/1/merck-kgaa-oncothyreon-lung-cancer-drug-fails-late-stage-study.html


5) Pfizer (PFE)

http://www.pfizer.com/home/

Maybe, except Pfizer bought Coley Pharmaceuticals seeking to develop an immune-boosting therapy against lung cancer. That drug failed in phase III studies, despite posting very strong results in phase II. Will Peregrine prove to be too much deja vu for Pfizer?

6) Eli Lilly's (LLY)

http://www.lilly.com/Pages/home.aspx

Drug research efforts are an embarrassment so Peregrine could find a receptive audience in Indianapolis. Then again, a partnership with the drug development clowns at Lilly might be the kiss of death for bavituximab.


7) Gilead (GILD)

http://www.gilead.com/

from Gileads forward looking statement: " In addition, Gilead may make a strategic decision to discontinue development of the compounds or the fixed-dose combination regimen if, for example, Gilead believes commercialization will be difficult relative to other opportunities in its pipeline. Further, Gilead may be unable to file for regulatory approval of sofosbuvir and the fixed-dose combination of sofosbuvir/GS-5885 in the currently anticipated timelines or at all. If marketing approval is granted for any of these products, there may be significant limitations on their use."

... now, just my opinion...but Gilead has in its pipeline (oncology) 4 phase II's and 1 phase III and just like any # of other BP's.... they only know how good their chances are moving their phase II/III's towards FDA approval.... and I can guarantee that some of these BP's know their chances are much ... much better if they added a little Bavi to the mix. Additionally... Is it worth it for these BP's to run the worry of risking someone else stepping in to effectively have that Bavi edge which could enhance their own drugs for that extra "median overall survival" and "safety" advantage which is all it may take: These are my opinions why I absolutely think we will be partnered up shortly: The Bavi Edge

8) TransCelerate Biopharma Inc.-The power play of 10 BP's

http://transceleratebiopharmainc.com/

Transcelerate Biopharma: New CEO Jan 1st Dalvir Gill Phd

Maybe the largest biotech change going into 2013 as this new group of 10 BP's formed and I find it odd that there has been no PR since Dec 10th....

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/transcelerate-biopharma-inc-appoints-dalvir-gill-as-chief-executive-officer-182811051.html

TransCelerate Biopharma Inc. could still be a possibility to be in play for Peregrine's Bavi pipeline as these 10 BP's now have some major transparency as Dalvir Gill takes the helm and I'm sure he has some major news coming....

Abbvie, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristom-Myers Squibb, Glaxo-Smith-Kline, Johnson&Johnson, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Roche(Genentech), Sanofi ..... could all claim a stake in the Bavi pipeline....


....
Hard to see GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) or Roche (RHHBY) interested in bavituximab given their focus on anti-PD-1 antibodies . PD-1 is a hot cancer immunotherapy target but investing with Transcelerate mitigates their R/D because if Bavi happens to take the lead... why would any BP not want to secure some ownership in this early on. I say early on.... because within months ( not years : ) Bavi trial results will all be coming in... and if "mos" and "safety" keep leading the way... so will the share price

Closer to home, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and Merck (MRK) are also working on anti-PD1 antibodies. Bristol, in fact, is moving a PD-1 drug into phase III studies, including in lung cancer. Again... will BP's want to take a different strategy going forward and secure some ownership in Bavi early on.

Feel free to add/change/modify.....
GLTA!