Zealand Pharma meldte i går ganske overraskende om et opkøb, hvormed selskabet forstærker sin peptid-platform markant. De bruger dog også af deres kassebeholdning, hvilket øger risikoen for en emissionen senere hen.
Der er ikke mange banker, der har kommenteret købet. Jeg har modtaget dette fra Bryan Garnier i dag:
• Zealand yesterday announced the opportunistic acquisition of assets consisting mainly of patents and a library of peptides from Encycle Therapeutics at no cost, at least until the lead asset successfully completes phase II trials. So far ET3764, an orally-delivered integrin alpha4-beta7 inhibitor, is at the PC stage and requires some more work in higher species before it can go for an IND. It is the first time Zealand acquires an external asset which has to be seen as a strong sign of commitment to its leadership position in the field of peptides. Having the broadest possible library of compounds to test before picking up the next possible candidate to go in the clinics is key to the new CEO.
• Clearly it is much too early to think about what can come out of this acquisition even though the target of the first asset has been validated already by Entyvio in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease i.e. two diseases in the GI field where Zealand wants to build around glepaglutide (SBS). And the oral route might represent some kind of advantage. But the CEO acknowledged that UC was very busy and would require significant investments to go commercial, hence the open game to decide later on where to go and under which overall scheme, considering that a mix of large indications in partnership or licensing-out and smaller ones in stand-alone is a possible way forward.
Der er ikke mange banker, der har kommenteret købet. Jeg har modtaget dette fra Bryan Garnier i dag:
• Zealand yesterday announced the opportunistic acquisition of assets consisting mainly of patents and a library of peptides from Encycle Therapeutics at no cost, at least until the lead asset successfully completes phase II trials. So far ET3764, an orally-delivered integrin alpha4-beta7 inhibitor, is at the PC stage and requires some more work in higher species before it can go for an IND. It is the first time Zealand acquires an external asset which has to be seen as a strong sign of commitment to its leadership position in the field of peptides. Having the broadest possible library of compounds to test before picking up the next possible candidate to go in the clinics is key to the new CEO.
• Clearly it is much too early to think about what can come out of this acquisition even though the target of the first asset has been validated already by Entyvio in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease i.e. two diseases in the GI field where Zealand wants to build around glepaglutide (SBS). And the oral route might represent some kind of advantage. But the CEO acknowledged that UC was very busy and would require significant investments to go commercial, hence the open game to decide later on where to go and under which overall scheme, considering that a mix of large indications in partnership or licensing-out and smaller ones in stand-alone is a possible way forward.
