January 29, 2015
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor
Danish biotech Symphogen is once again in possession of its lead asset, experimental cancer drug Sym004, three years after it partnered with much larger Merck on a $625 million deal to develop the therapy.
Symphogen also said Thursday that it would soon open a new clinical development unit in New Jersey, though it did not mention a date or possible job creation. Company research and development chief Ivan Horak, will head up that new American initiative.
The two companies said Thursday that they have parted ways on the collaboration, with Symphogen saying it hopes to now turns itself into a standalone clinical stage company, with the mid-stage drug as its crown jewel.
“With more than €70 million ($79 million) in cash to execute its strategy, the rights to an advancing clinical program and several pipeline programs being readied for development, we can harvest the productivity of our research efforts and move the company forward with an eye toward commercial oncology opportunities,” Chief Executive Officer Kirsten Drejer said in a statement.
Merck said for its part the decision was made as part of a larger paring down of its pipeline as it attempts to tackle 2015 as a leaner, more focused company, or “an ongoing assessment of all pipeline assets,” said a spokesperson.
Both Merck and Symphogen went to pains Thursday to point out that the breakup is in no way reflective of Sym004’s safety or efficacy, particularly since the drug is now in Phase IIb trials as it tests its skills on killing colorectal cancer tumors. It has also showed promised in stopping the advancement of squamous cell cancer.
Sym004 works by targeting the body’s epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which is responsible for tumor growth. Merck originally invested in the drug in 2012, with an initial upfront payment of $25 million, followed by $600 million more in milestone cash.
Now Symphogen will focus on a host of cancer antibodies, said Drejer, including a separate antibody designed to target c-MET that will roll into Phase I trials in 2016. The biotech also has an intriguing 6-antibody cocktail, which is slated to enter clinical trials in late 2015. That therapy targets EGFR, HER2 and HER3, and has shown promise in early testing.
Symphogen said newly recruited research veteran Esper Boel, who it poached from Novartis , will now lead its Danish antibody discovery unit.
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