Zentalis Pharmaceuticals announced that Pfizer made a $25 million equity investment in the company.
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Just weeks after shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals dropped 30% following the identification of drug-drug interactions in one of its lead assets, Pfizer is coming to the rescue.
Zentalis announced Wednesday that the biopharma giant had made a 7- figure equity investment in the company.
Zentalis is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops small molecule therapeutics targeting fundamental biological pathways of cancer. Currently, the company has several therapeutics in Phase I and II clinical trials including ZN-c3 and ZN-d5, which are indicated for several conditions including uterine serous carcinoma and relapsed or refractory light chain (AL) amyloidosis and are being studied in combination with other immunotherapies for cancers including osteosarcoma and ovarian cancer.
Pfizer’s $25 million offer is expected to close on or around April 29, 2022. Zentalis stated that it intends to use the net proceeds to help fund ongoing and planned clinical trials of the aforementioned assets. With the prioritization of those candidates, budget reallocation and Pfizer’s investment, the company will extend its current cash runway into Q1 2024.
The investment will potentially offset the negative consequences caused by the drop in shares which occurred because researchers found that ZN-c5, could cause drug-drug interactions that investors viewed as a risk.
As part of the investment, Pfizer and Zentalis are entering into a collaboration to advance the clinical development of ZN-c3 which is specifically indicated for uterine serous carcinoma, solid tumors and biomarker-driven cancers. Zentalis will maintain full economic ownership and control of the therapeutic, along with the rest of its pipeline, and Pfizer stands to broaden its ever-growing cancer immunotherapy portfolio. As part of the collaboration, Pfizer will leverage its global development capabilities and expertise to enhance the clinical programs.
“Given Pfizer’s deep expertise in developing treatments for genitourinary cancers, we are proud not only to receive capital support but to partner with them to develop a potential treatment option for patients living with cancer. We look forward to advancing our promising therapeutics to hopefully realize the full potential of our internally discovered oncology pipeline,” Dr. Anthony Sun, chairman and CEO of Zentalis, said in a press release.
Additionally, Zentalis will gain the expertise and guidance of Adam Schayowitz, Ph.D., MBA, who serves as the vice president and medicine team group lead for breast cancer, colorectal cancer and melanoma for Pfizer. Schayowitz will join Zentalis’ scientific advisory board and work closely with the senior management team to provide guidance and input on clinical strategies.
Zentalis presented promising data for ZN-c3’s efficacy at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting. In Phase Ib trials, ZN-c3 in combination with chemotherapy showed an objective response rate of 30.2% in patients dosed and achieved a response rate of up to 62.5% in one of the cohorts studied. Additionally, the drug demonstrated an overall response rate of 27.3% and a disease control rate of 90.9% in patients with uterine serous carcinoma.
ZN-d5 is currently being evaluated in Phase I/II clinical trials with the first patient being dosed in March 2022. The trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and efficacy of the therapeutic in patients with AL amyloidosis, a life-threatening condition in which proteins buildup in organs.
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