Neratinib Comes Through For Puma

Yet another entry in the "Why do people keep investing in biopharma?" files. Take a look at the case of Puma Biotechnology. Their stock was as high as $140/share earlier in the year, and it gradually deflated to the high 50s/low 60s as time went on. But yesterday, after hours, they reported unexpectedly good Phase III results for neratinib in breast cancer, and as I write, they're at $228 or so, up about $167 per share. It's another HER2/EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (like Tykerb/lapatinib in the small molecule space, although neratinib is an irreversible inhibitor) and would be targeted at patients who are now taking Herceptin. Neratinib itself has not had a smooth path to this stage, though. Puma licensed the compound out from Pfizer, and took on the responsibility for all of the development. Pfizer ditched the compound a few years ago in a review of their oncology portfolio. I note that the two companies have reworked their licensing agreement on this news as well. Puma's entire business model is taking up oncology candidates that other companies have shed, and it certainly seems to have come through for them this time. So chalk one up for irreversible kinase inhibitors, and (of course) for Puma. And for the patients who will be taking the drug, naturally, and lastly, for Puma's shareholders, who are having an excellent day indeed.
Source: In the Pipeline - Category: Chemists Tags: Cancer Source Type: blogs