July 20, 2015
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Burnaby, British Columbia-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals announced today that it was changing its corporate name to Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (ABUS).
The name change and new focus of the company comes after the integration of Doylestown, Penn.-based OnCore Biopharma. The new company will focus on a treatment for chronic hepatitis B virus. Combined, Arbutus boasts the largest portfolio of HBV product candidates in the industry.
Tekmira’s focus has been on RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics. In late 2014, it was deeply involved in Ebola vaccine research with funding from the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Joint Project Manager Transformational Medical Technologies (JPM-TMT) Office. They received a $140 million contract to continue their RNAi treatment for Ebola and was given Fast Track designation in March 2014 for TKM-Ebola.
In January 2015, Tekmira acquired OnCore Biopharma to strengthen its focus on hepatitis B virus treatments, which would involve fusing several of its therapeutic approaches. The merged company was valued at about $750 million based on Tekmira’s closing price at the time of $15.70.
At the time, Tekmira indicated it would continue working on its oncology, Ebola and anti-viral programs.
“We are very excited about the prospects for our integrated new company, which has undergone a transformation to a complete HBV solutions company,” said Mark Murray, president and chief executive officer of Tekmira in a statement. “The company possesses exceptionally strong and proven clinical development, scientific, and commercial leadership teams and is very well resourced to execute against our goal of delivering a cure for chronic HBV. We believe that the market opportunity for a curative regimen for HBV is very significant, likely eclipsing the HCV market, and presents a meaningful opportunity for shareholders.”
With the new name and focus, Arbutus/Tekmira also announced the creation of a specific business unit to continue work on the company’s non-HBV assets. That portfolio includes preclinical RNAi product candidates, content related to the lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology platform, and several strategic partnerships that exploit the LNP technology.
The new unit will be financed independently and has its own management team, which will be led by Michael Abrams, current managing director and former chief executive officer of AnorMed.
The company indicates that all activities related to TKM-Ebola will be suspended. The DoD and company executives are currently re-evaluating the development contract. Clinical trials of the drug that were ongoing in Sierra Leone were suspended in June, with an interim assessment indicating the drug wasn’t showing useful results.
Managers of Arbutus will ring the opening bell at the NASDAQ Marketsite on Monday, Aug. 3, 2015.
Tekmira’s stock has been on a slow downward trend after a volatile late 2014. Shares traded for $29.53 on Oct. 3, 2014, dropped to $13.01 on Dec. 4, 2014 and spiked to $24.68 on Jan. 12, 2015. It rose to $26.26, but has been declining ever since. Stock is currently trading for $11.29.
