Originally Published as The Niche Podcast
Dopamine deals, Merck vaccine approval, Epipen settlements, billions in buildings, and outsized Oncology IPO.
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Music by Luke Goodson
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Life Science Today is your source for stories, insights, and trends across the life science industry. Expect weekly highlights about new technologies, pharmaceutical mergers and acquisitions, news about the moves of venture capital and private equity, and how the stock market responds to biotech IPOs. Life Science Today also explores trends around clinical research, including the evolving patterns that determine how drugs and therapies are developed and approved. It’s news, with a dash of perspective, focused on the life science industry.
Introduction
Welcome to The Niche Podcast – Your weekly rundown of the biotech, pharma, clinical research, and life science industries. I’m your host, Dr. Noah Goodson. This week, Dopamine deals, Merck vaccine approval, Epipen settlements, billions in buildings, and outsized Oncology IPO.
Disclaimer
The views expressed on The Niche Podcast are those of the host and guests. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any organizations or companies with which they are affiliated.
Dopamine D3 Deals
Dopamine receptors play a critical role in numerous disease states. Like many G protein-coupled receptors, they are a variety of forms with sometimes opposite functions. For example, D1 receptors can increase intracellular calcium while D2 receptors do the opposite, both through adenylyl cyclase regulation. Because of the variety of receptor types and functions, specific receptor antagonists may be able to treat certain disease states. D3 receptors are much less common than D1 or D2 receptors. However, both D2 and D3 receptors have relatively similar binding mechanisms. It has long been speculated that an effective D3 antagonist could be therapeutically valuable. Most D2 antagonists have motor side effects.
The Swedish based IRLAB has developed a D3 antagonist they believe could be helpful in treating Parkinson’s disease. IPSEN has inked a $363M deal to license IRLABs D3 antagonist, mesdopetam, and see it through the next phase of clinical trials. The deal includes $28M upfront and $335M in developmental and regulatory milestone payments for licensing of the therapy. If successful, mesdopetam may represent a quality-of-life improvement for Parkinson’s patients, but likely not treat the underlying disease state. It is also possible that as data roles out, IRLAB will want to expand the therapeutic directions of a D3 antagonist in other neurological conditions, for example schizophrenia. There are currently no approved treatments utilizing D3 receptor antagonists.
Merck FDA Approved and What’s Next
Merck (MSD outside the US) has received approval from the FDA for their Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine that treats 15 common serotypes. The vaccine was basically equal-to or better-than the current 13-valent version in all categories. Certain elderly and chronically ill adults are at increased risk for life-threatening pneumococcal disease. The FDA will provide guidance in October on best recommended uses of the new vaccine.
Since we are talking about Merck’s vaccines, lets take a quick journey down market-positioning-lane. Merck has historically held a massive share of vaccines in both human and animals. In fact, they were a big investor in Moderna ($50M in 2015, $125M in 2018), and sold off shares in November 2020 for a major ROI. Now that they’ve divested their Moderna shares (at least those held directly) and gotten through the complex spin-off of Organon, I expect to see some movement. mRNA vaccines are here to stay, but they are not the only technology that is critical. The nano-packing solutions underlying mRNA vaccines will also be invaluable to delivery of unique therapies especially in the oncology space going forward. Of course, everyone knows this, so the companies with valuable IP in this niche are mostly locked into deals. However, I do expect to see Merck on the hunt for anything that has dual oncology/vaccine valence whether it’s targeted therapies or technological foundations. Obviously, they’d like to early invest in the next Moderna, but that is so tricky right now. Because of the start-up investment pool complications, I would not be surprised to see them lay out some big cash (>$1B) for more mature targets by the end of 2021.
The Cost of Epinephrine
The cost of Epipens has been at the center of accusations of pharmaceutical greed for years. The life-saving and critical devices that provide an injection of epinephrine to stop anaphylaxis had been increasing in price for years before hitting major negative feedback in 2016. Now, an additional lawsuit has been settled out of court. Pfizer has agreed to pay $345M with no admission of wrongdoing for slowing the development of a generic version. Mylan, now a Pfizer subsidiary paid $465M in 2017 for inflating prices. The reality is that Epipens are just the tip of the iceberg for why therapies are so expensive. Legislators seem to be focused on other directions currently, so I don’t expect much to change any time soon. For now, lawsuits for the most egregious violations are the primary solution.
Building Big Buildings
Regeneron has announced a $1.8B investment into its NY facilities. The increased capacity will add 1000 jobs and significant manufacturing capabilities over the next 6 years. If you’re wondering where all this money is coming from check previous episodes – basically Regeneron is on a role and their pipeline is ripe with promise. They want to be positioned to maintain manufacturing centrally and in-house.
GSK is also building a major facility … indirectly. GSK will have some 33 acres within its R&D site north of London developed by an external developer. This will then form the basis for a biotech hub that supports startups as well as GSKs own research facilities. They estimate 5000 jobs will be created. Though, this depends on a wider ecosystem. In some ways, this reminds me of a University development in the states: A large institution provides backing and space for smaller organizations to bring in ideas and energy and create a broader hub. GSK thinks it can be one of the largest biomedical research facilities in the UK.
Erasca Gets $300 Upsized IPO
Erasca (Erase Cancer) has completed a significantly upsized $300M IPO to push forward their RAS/MAPK oncology pipeline. The company is built entirely around targeting upstream, downstream, and RAS directly with 11 different programs. All are early stage, but their lead candidates are moving to Phase I and II trials. It’s pretty normal at this stage to take on developmental partners. I’m sure Erasca is vetting calls to see if any deals align with portions of their pipeline. I’d be pretty surprised if we don’t hear more announcements in the next 6 months.
Closing Credits
Thanks for joining me on The Niche Podcast; your weekly summary of top news in the biotech, pharma clinical research, and life science industries. You can learn more at thenichepod.com or find us on your favorite podcast app. Like, comment, subscribe, and most of all share with your friends. If you like what you hear, please rate and review, it really helps us. Once again, I’m Dr. Noah Goodson, I’ll see you next week.