Replies to post #39447 on Biotech Values

[Preciouslife1]

Whoa Nellie as Chris Jackson always said!!
++++Glaxo signs record $2.1 bln deal for Genmab drug

That seems like King Solomon's ransom, but when delving into it, this could be another Rituxan, as well as for other Cancer indications, and RA too.....Xoma GAVE AWAY Rituxan for like 20 something million, so this looks to be advantageous for both parties as a win win situation if it passes all FDA muster....

For Glaxo, it opens up a whole new extension to its Monoclonal Antibody division and have a new late stage drug in trials for multiple indications almost ready to go....like Cisco in networking, who buys so many leading edge small tech companies instead of developing the technology inhouse, it
allows the other company to do all the dirty work of the primary, secondary and terciary digging in the mud to get the product where it is viable, and then the Big Daddy Warbucks come sweeping in with irresitable dollars and now take over new technology that they integrate with their own and that keeps the revenue flow and pipeline progressing....
So, all in all, it looks on the surface to be a win win situation, especially that the upfront money is not exhorbitant and the back loaded royalties is where the lion's share of Genmab's big bucks will come from for years, decades to come.....IMHO.

Peace all,

[DewDiligence]

Genmab, GSK Start Phase-3 RA Trial
for Second-Generation CD20 Drug

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUKL204181720071120

>>
Tue Nov 20, 2007 3:36am EST

COPENHAGEN, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Danish biotech firm Genmab (GEN.CO) said on Tuesday it would start Phase III trials with ofatumumab for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The trial will begin with two studies outside the United States in distinct patient populations. It will entail a 24-week double-blind period followed by a 120-week open-label period.

It will be conducted in partnership with Britain's GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

One patient group has had an inadequate response to methotrexate therapy, while the other has had an inadequate response to TNF-alpha antagonist therapy.

Ofatumumab, also known as HuMax-CD20, is an experimental antibody drug also being tested for leukaemia and other blood cancers.

Glaxo bought global rights to HuMax-CD20 in a deal worth up to $2.1 billion last December.
<<

[DewDiligence]

Genmab, GSK’s Arzerra gets CHMP approval in CLL:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ArzerraTM-Ofatumumab-Receives-pz-2817847237.html?x=0&.v=1

The CHMP approval is for the second-line setting, the same indication for which Arzerra was approved by the FDA in Oct 2009 (#msg-42935958) under the Accelerated Approval program.

The Arzerra program also includes first-line CLL and autoimmune diseases such as RA—see the prologue of #msg-40412567 for details.

GSK licensed Arzerra (a/k/a/ ofatumumab; f/k/a/ HuMax-CD20) in 2006 in one of the largest biotech deals ever for any company (#msg-15652707).

[DewDiligence]

Genmab Cans Lisa Drakeman

[This is a shocking dénouement given the blockbuster partnership with GSK Drakeman negotiated 3.5 years ago (#msg-15652707). CC today at 10am EDT.]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNLDE65E0PV20100615

›Tue Jun 15, 2010 6:12am EDT
By Peter Levring

COPENHAGEN, June 15 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Genmab (GEN.CO) stepped down on Tuesday following criticism of recent mis-steps at the Danish biotechnology company, whose shares have fallen more than 80 percent in the past three years.

Dutchman Jan van de Winkel, the company's chief scientific officer since its inception, will replace American Lisa Drakeman as CEO with immediate effect, the company said.

Genmab was for many years a rising star of the European biotech sector, thanks to the successful development of its Arzerra medicine for blood cancers and a multibillion-dollar licensing deal for the drug with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

But more recently, clinical trial results have disappointed and the company has twice had to make significant cost cuts. It also decided last year to sell a U.S. drugmaking facility, marking an embarrassing reversal of a less than two-year-old strategy to secure its own manufacturing capacity.

The company's problems have led to persistent speculation that Glaxo might buy it to get full rights to Arzerra. But many analysts are sceptical.

"To me Drakeman's exit shows a GSK takeover of Genmab is not imminent. If it had been just around the corner she would have seen it through. It would have left her with a better reputation," said Sydbank analyst Rune Dahl.

A spokeswoman for Glaxo declined to comment.

Shares in Genmab had risen sharply on Monday following a bullish analysis in a newsletter that highlighted talk of a Glaxo takeover, as well as positive results for candidate drug zalutumumab.

Genmab shares, which last Thursday hit their lowest level since mid-2003, were up 3 percent to 60 crowns by 0945 GMT.

Glaxo bought global rights to Arzerra in December 2006 in a deal worth up to $2.1 billion, a record sum for a biotech product agreement at the time [#msg-15652707].

Genmab said it would hold a conference call to discuss the management changes at 1400 GMT. The timing will allow participation of the company's American chairman, Michael Widmer, who is based on the U.S. West Coast.‹