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SpringWorks and Satsuma, two spin-outs of biotechnology that closed the B rounds in April, are bracing themselves with cash for IPOs to bolster their respective projects in the final phase.
SpringWorks
Lara SullivanBain-backed SpringWorks is the best known company of both companies. It is striving for a better deal of $ 115 million, in addition to $ 228 million from previous financings. During this process, the Stamford CT-based team also draws the curtains of the partnerships it has envisioned for Pfizer's previously licensed asset pair.
Of course, the company still has cash. In a document filed with the SEC, SpringWorks indicated that $ 102 million of Series A transactions had been processed, with $ 185.3 million in cash and cash equivalents remaining at the last date. countdown. The new brew of a public start is expected to extend the runway until 2022.
Lara Sullivan, of Pfizer, was awarded the aid in August 2017 to split four promising assets that did not allow internal R & D to become a new store. As soon as the agreement was reached, officials had to reuse drugs against rare tumors, accumulate orphan drugs and make accelerated designations en route. Nirogacestat, a gamma secretase inhibitor, is currently undergoing a Phase III trial for the treatment of desmoid tumors (rare soft tissue tumors); Mirdametinib, an MEK inhibitor, is in Phase IIb for the treatment of plexiform neurofibromas associated with neurofibromatosis type 1.
Both of these targets are well defined, with many trials of related drugs over the past decade or more. The gamma secretase inhibitor was born in the Alzheimer's field, where Eli Lilly experienced a colossal disaster several years ago. According to SpringWorks officials, this MEK inhibitor could also be used as an association for oncology backbone treatment, following other approved treatments. In fact, Pfizer had recently purchased a drug of this type – Mektovi – as part of its $ 11.4 billion buyout from Array Biopharma.
With potentially imminent registration tests, Pfizer is expected to receive milestones of $ 462 million – or more if SpringWorks licenses some of the compounds that the pharmacy giant has agreed to make available once a year until 39, next October.
Meanwhile, Saqib Islam, who was promoted to CEO after being the first CFO and CEO, has also championed several collaborations with BeiGene and GlaxoSmithKline.
The first presents a combined Phase Ib trial of mirdametinib and lifirafenib for one-half of MEK and RAF in solid tumors. The latter combines nirogacestat with maantodab mafodotin, an anti-BCMA ADC that Hal Barron, director of research and development at GSK, has touted as severe cases of multiple myeloma.
Next is BGB-3245, a preclinical BRAF inhibitor from BeiGene, that covers both B600 and V600 mutations. Owned by a joint venture with MapKure, a China-based partner, the drug could eventually become the backbone of a treatment (again associated with mirdametinib) in direct competition with Pfizer.
Despite all its efforts, Islam has been rewarded with a compensation program of more than $ 1.7 million, most of which was in stock. Sullivan, the former president, received nearly $ 1.3 million in 2018.
Satsuma
John Kollins and his team at Satsuma Pharmaceuticals have been much more focused on the laser, but still busy. San Francisco biotech closed a $ 62 million Series B in April, attracting many new investors, and launched a Phase III efficacy trial on its drug / device for migraine. last month. It is now seeking to accumulate its cash reserves as it goes public for $ 86 million.
The company was separated from Japan's Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories two years ago with a singular mission: To develop a dry powder nasal formulation of the generic drug dihydroergotamine, provided by a technician from the parent company.
DHE works by narrowing the blood vessels in the brain and inhibiting the release of pro-inflammatory substances. Unlike the highly regarded CGRP class, it is designed for acute treatment rather than prevention. Although nasal aerosols are currently available, they are generally considered less effective than injectables – something Satsuma is willing to change.
A phase I trial of 42 healthy volunteers showed that STS101 induced the plasma concentration of target DHE in 10 minutes and achieved all the measures of exposure to the drug.
Satsuma plans to recruit 1,140 patients for the newly launched phase III study, to release baseline data, and to begin a 12-month safety trial in the second quarter of 2020, then to file a NDA for here the end of 2021.
CEO Kollins, a member of Athena Neurosciences and Immunex, acquired by Amgen, and its chief operating officer, Mic Iwashima, spent $ 23.9 million to move quickly into the advanced stage of development. The bank still has $ 47.6 million, including a $ 5 million loan from Silicon Valley Bank. The current number of full-time employees is set at 11.
To realize all his projects, however, Satsuma will probably have to develop drastically. From the S-1:
In the event of approval, we plan to market STS101 in the United States by setting up a specialized sales organization focused on headache specialists, as well as on general neurologists and primary care physicians who prescribe a large number of anti-cancer therapies. migraine.
His project to seek ex-US partners for the drug also calls for a larger business development team.
For the moment, however, much of the proceeds of the IPO should be allocated to Phase III trials.
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