April 4, 2016
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
The Woodlands, Texas-based Lexicon Pharmaceuticals announced that a $21.2 million deal to expand in the Houston area has been terminated.
Apparently the plans to expand facilities in Woodlands, Texas was ended due to uncertainty in the financial markets and real estate. It plans to look at other alternatives.
On March 30, the company announced it had submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market and sell telotristat etiprate for carcinoid syndrome. It has requested a priority Review.
“The filing of the NDA for telotristat etiprate brings us one step closer to the possibility of bringing this innovative new investigational treatment to the market to improve the lives of the community of patients and caregivers who live with carcinoid syndrome on a daily basis,” said Lonnel Coats, Lexicon’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with the FDA during the review process.”
Carcinoid syndrome is caused when a rare carcinoid tumor secretes specific chemicals into the bloodstream. Symptoms include skin flushing, facial skin lesions, diarrhea, asthma-like symptoms and rapid heartbeat. Carcinoid tumors occur most often in the gastrointestinal tract or lungs.
Telotristat etiprate targets tryptophan hydroxylase, an enzyme that initiates excess serotonin production within mNET cells, which causes carcinoid syndrome. The drug has received Fast Track and Orphan Drug designation from the FDA.
On Mar. 1, the company released its full year and three-month financial reports. It reported $130 million in revenue for the year, up from $22.9 million the previous year. The company also inked a deal in November 2015 with Paris-based Sanofi for worldwide development and commercialization of sotagliflozin to treat type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Lexicon received an upfront payment of $300 million and up to $1.4 billion in developmental, regulatory and sales milestone payments.
“This has been a transformative year for Lexicon and our two lead drug candidates, telotristat etiprate and sotagliflozin,” said Coats in a statement at the time. “We entered 2016 well capitalized with more than $500 million in cash and investments and well positioned to progress our first drug, telotristat etiprate, to an NDA filing and, if approved, into the market.”
Although Lexicon has had a fairly volatile year, it’s been on an upswing lately. Shares traded on Aug. 3, 2015 for $13.60, rose to $15.74 on Sept. 17, then dropped to $9.51 on Oct. 31. Shares rebounded to $13.92 on Nov. 27, then dropped to $8.02 on Feb. 9, 2016. Shares are currently trading for $12.61.
Six analysts gave the company an average rating of “hold.” One analyst gave the company a “sell,” three gave it a “hold” and one gave it a “buy.” The average 12-month price target is $19.13.
Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A., a hedge fun, recently bought a stake in the company in the fourth quarter of 2015 according to a Form 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Candriam acquired 165,000 shares of the stock, valued at about $2,196,000.
