BiostockAddict schreef op 1 juli 2015 23:12:
TLSR: Is there another innovative yet undervalued company you have your eyes on?
MW: Yes. Galapagos NV (GLPG:NASDAQ; GLPG:BSE) has a partnership in place with AbbVie Inc. (ABBV:NYSE) to develop the JAK1 inhibitor filgotinib for severe rheumatoid arthritis patients who show an inadequate response to the drug methotrexate. The share price went up dramatically after Phase 2 interim results were released. At the end of July, the company is expected to publish all the results of the 24-week trial in this indication.
If the results are positive, as they were in the interim analysis, AbbVie probably will exercise its option to in-license the drug, triggering a milestone payment of $200 million ($200M) to Galapagos.
For AbbVie, it's important to have a new product against rheumatoid arthritis in its pipeline because, currently, it has the largest-selling rheumatoid arthritis product on the market. It's called Humira (adalimumab), and has annual sales of $13 billion ($13B). Humira will go off-patent in a few years, so AbbVie needs a follow-up drug. AbbVie has development programs underway with other companies to develop an innovative follow-up to Humira, but the most important of those programs is the one with Galapagos.
TLSR: Is an acquisition likely?
MW: There are rumors AbbVie may consider acquiring Galapagos for this product. In the recent initial public offering (IPO) on NASDAQ, the company participated in the placement of new shares.
Another thing that is interesting—and feeds the rumors—is that AbbVie has other partnerships in place with Galapagos to develop cystic fibrosis therapeutics. The cystic fibrosis market is garnering a lot of interest from large pharmaceutical companies. Wall Street analysts estimate the cystic fibrosis market may exceed $6B within the next few years. AbbVie and other pharmaceutical companies are actively looking for a new generation of drugs to target that market.
www.thelifesciencesreport.com/pub/na/...