Another member of the S1P drug class - Bristol Myers Squibb's Zeposia, approved to treat Multiple Sclerosis - earned >$250m of revenues in 2022, and is expected by management to drive >$3bn per annum in peak sales. Should the company be successful with either of its lead candidates, LP352, or LP659, it would open up a potentially blockbuster revenue opportunity in each market.įor context, Epidiolex, a cannabinoid seizure treatment that Jazz Pharmaceuticals ( JAZZ) - my note here - acquired via its $7.6bn buyout of GW Pharmaceutical - earned $736m of revenues in 2022 in its approved indications of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome in 2022, whilst LP659 - which has the same mechanism of action ("MoA") as Arena's Etrasimod, being an S1P receptor modulator - may be approvable in a wide range of neurological markets. Longboard's market cap is just ~$210m at the time of writing, with the share price trading at ~$9.25. Our small molecule product candidates were discovered out of the same platform at Arena that represents a culmination of more than 20 years of world-class GPCR research LP659, a centrally acting, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor subtypes 1 and 5 (S1P1,5) receptor modulator, for which we have submitted an investigational new drug application ("IND") to the FDA after incorporating input from a pre-IND meeting with the FDA, and for which we anticipate initiating a Phase 1 clinical study in healthy volunteers in the first half of 2023 and anticipate topline single ascending dose (SAD) data in the second half of 2023.LP352, an oral, centrally acting, 5-hydroxytryptamine 2C receptor subtype (5-HT2C) superagonist, currently in a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial (the PACIFIC Study) expected to evaluate 50 participants ages 12 to 65 years old with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs), which may include Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD), and SCN2A-related disorders, among others, with study enrollment expected to be completed in the first half of 2023 and topline data expected in the second half of 2023 and.We are currently focused on developing the following product candidates in our pipeline, both of which are licensed from Arena: According to Longboard's Q123 10Q submission (quarterly report): Longboard was launched with $56m of funding, with former Arena Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") Kevin Lind appointed CEO. Pfizer believes the drug could eventually pull in revenues >$3bn per annum.īefore Arena was acquired, back in January 2020, management opted to "spin-out" a portfolio of "centrally acting product candidates designed to be highly selective for specific G protein-coupled receptors ("GPCRs")" into a new entity called Longboard Pharmaceuticals ( NASDAQ: LBPH) - the subject of this post. With the right drug and some good stewardship around guiding it through the clinical trial process, a small biotech can deliver outstanding returns for investors - just as Arena Pharmaceuticals did when it was acquired by Pharma giant Pfizer ( PFE) for $6.7bn in December 2021, Pfizer paying a 90% premium to traded share price to gain access to lead drug candidate Etrasimod.Įtrasimod was an oral Sphingosine-1-phosphate ("S1P") Receptor Modulator indicated for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, already in Phase 3 studies in ulcerative colitis ("UC") and atopic dermatitis ("AD"), and under Pfizer's stewardship a New Drug Application ("NDA") has been submitted to the FDA for approval in UC, based on data from two key late stage trials that met all primary and secondary endpoints. ![]() LockieCurrie/E+ via Getty Images Investment OverviewĮven in the current age of technology driven data and analytics, the drug development industry is a hit and miss business, where speculation, serendipity and even luck play a role in the discovery of new therapies with blockbuster (>$1bn per annum) revenue potential.
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