Genmab just received a $20M milestone payment from Janssen Biotech.
Copenhagen, Denmark-based Genmab A/S just received a $20 million milestone payment from Janssen Biotech, a Johnson & Johnson company. The payout was based on progress in a Phase III trial of Darzalex (daratumumab) in combination with cyclophosphamide, bortezomib and dexamethasone in amyloidosis. The company’s strong relationship to J&J has raised the specter of a possible takeover of the Danish company.
J&J sells Darzakex and Genmab receives 12 to 20 percent royalties. Sales of the drug for blood cancer are expected to exceed $1 billion this year, with analysts projecting peak annual sales of $8 billion.
On Nov. 21, the company announced that Janssen had submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for daratumab (Darzalex) in combination with bortezomib, melphalan and prednisone for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are ineligible or autologous stem cell transplant.
That is just one in a string of announcements of Darzalex hitting various sales and regulatory milestones that has filled Genmab’s newsfeed this year.
Reuters writes, “Bernstein analyst Wimal Kapadia is among those who think J&J might just decide to buy Genmab and avoid royalties altogether, while bringing onboard a smart team of scientists.”
Paul Stoffels, J&J’s chief scientific officer, told Reuters, “It’s one of the most successful collaborations we have. We love the partnership.”
Genmab’s chief executive officer, Jan van de Winkel dodges the subject, saying it would be up to shareholders. He told Reuters,“Our focus is to build an independent antibody innovation powerhouse and we think we can create more value for our stakeholders by staying independent than being a part of a larger entity.”
Reuters and investors are making a comparison to J&J’s acquisition of Switzerland’s Actelion for $30 billion earlier this year. Van de Winkel questions the correlation, saying, “They needed to replace that income and that is exactly what the Actelion products will do. That is a completely different reason, I think, from potentially looking at a company like ours. It is up to J&J … but I hope that we can continue like this for many, many more years.”
John Carroll, writing for Endpoints News, points out, “Neither Stoffels or Van de Winkel, meanwhile, are talking up a buyout at this stage—content to stay focused on their work as partners. Both are public companies and the execs are skilled at not crossing any disclosure lines. Still, as long as the news from Genmab/J&J remains upbeat on the front, you can expect plenty more speculation on a takeover bid. With deals running slow, the market will make up for the lack of fire with lots of new smoke.”
Of course, like many companies, Genmab is eyeing the UK’s “Brexit” and the shift of the European Medicines Agency from London to Amsterdam. Jan van de Winkel said it might cause “temporary hiccups and a deprioritization of some processes or programs, which wouldn’t be good for patients in Europe,” Bloomberg Quint reported. “I’m worried.”
More than 18 countries were in the running for the EMA site, but the European Union chose the Netherlands because it thought fewer people would leave the agency as a result. Jan van de Winkel said the selection was “one of the least disruptive locations you can think of—but it is still potentially disruption,” and that it could slow “the introduction of a really important drug by several months.”
