Medivir AB (NASDAQ: MVIR), a research-based pharmaceutical company focused on oncology and infectious diseases, announced two transactions in the first days of November that constitutes a major shake-up.
On November 1, 2016, Medivir sold its pharmaceutical subsidiary, BioPhausia AB, to Karo Pharma AB (STO: KARO), a Swedish drug developer. BioPhausia develops and sells prescription medicines in the Nordic region for various therapeutic areas. The price was $101.75 million (SEK 908 million). BioPhausia has 13 established pharmaceutical drugs with strong brand names, which generated revenues of $21.1 million (SEK 189 million) from Q3:15 through Q2:16.
According to Medivir CEO’s statement in a press release, the divestiture allows Medivir to focus on its transformation into an oncology focused R&D company with a portfolio of products in several different development stages.
The next day, Medivir announced its acquisition of two clinical-stage oncology programs from Tetralogic Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: TLOG). The deal included remetinostat, a skin-directed HDAC inhibitor, and birinapant, a bivalent SMAC mimetic, and all intellectual property and data associated with Tetralogic’s HDAC inhibitor and SMAC mimetic projects.
In addition to the $12 million upfront payment, Medivir may pay up to $96 million in milestones related to remetinostat (development milestones through regulatory filings of up to $20 million, regulatory approval milestones of up to $45 million, and additional remetinostat commercialization milestones of up to $31 million based on sale achievements), as well as tiered royalties capped at an aggregate of 13%.
Medivir may also pay up to $130 million in milestones related to birinapant (development milestones and research support of up to $20 million, and commercialization milestones of up to $110 million based on sales) as well as tiered royalties capped at an aggregate of 10%.
Remetinostat is currently in a late Phase 2 program aimed to treat early stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), a chronic, orphan hematologic cancer that presents in the skin. Medivir currently plans to start a phase III trial with remetinostat in the second half of 2017.
