What does $100 million buy you in biotech?
Alkermes, a drug maker that has lately had a rough go of making drugs, paid $100 million to get in on neurodegenerative disease. But the value of what it purchased is the subject of some debate.
As STAT’s Kate Sheridan reports, Alkermes bought Rodin Therapeutics, a venture-backed startup, and promised to pay up to $850 million if everything goes perfectly. The prize is Rodin’s pipeline of preclinical drugs meant to treat dementia by targeting the formation of synapses in the brain, which many analysts described as a high-risk, high-reward bet for Alkermes.
But EvercoreISI analyst Umer Raffat sees the deal as “hard to gauge,” he wrote in a note to clients. Rodin has a drug in clinical trials, but Alkermes appears to be setting it aside, raising questions as to just how well the treatment — and thus the company’s platform — really works. Furthermore, Biogen had an agreement with Rodin that gave it an option to buy the company. The fact that Biogen didn’t do so could also signal some issues.
Read more.
As STAT’s Kate Sheridan reports, Alkermes bought Rodin Therapeutics, a venture-backed startup, and promised to pay up to $850 million if everything goes perfectly. The prize is Rodin’s pipeline of preclinical drugs meant to treat dementia by targeting the formation of synapses in the brain, which many analysts described as a high-risk, high-reward bet for Alkermes.
But EvercoreISI analyst Umer Raffat sees the deal as “hard to gauge,” he wrote in a note to clients. Rodin has a drug in clinical trials, but Alkermes appears to be setting it aside, raising questions as to just how well the treatment — and thus the company’s platform — really works. Furthermore, Biogen had an agreement with Rodin that gave it an option to buy the company. The fact that Biogen didn’t do so could also signal some issues.
Read more.
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