RE:RE:Merck AG initially bought US rights from ThWhen they signed the partnership deal on Egrifta, they were targetting a market that was quite small (lipodystrophy) and one in which Merck AG was supplying a drug already. Merck
AG likely partnerred with TH just to protect its own business and I suspect they were the only bidder. The deal was signed in the midst of the 2008 market meltdown as well if I can recall. I am not sure what the author below was referring too about bad phase III results. I don't think that was true and the drug did get approved.
Now Egrifta is targetting NASH, a huge and currently unserved market. And it is doing so with a drug that has been shown safe for over a decade and which some teting, as well as a lot of theorizing, has indicated it would be helpful. It is about the polar opposite of what was happening with Egrifta on its first tiny indication of lipodystrophy.
So, if TH can somehow swing a NASH partnership, it should be much, mush, much more significant than when it signed its original partnership with Merck AG. Even so, TH is not coming from a position of strength so, unless there are multiple bidders for Egrifta in NASH, any deal done may not be on the best terms for TH shareholders. But it would still likely be far, far more impactful that lipodystrophy has been simply because of the potential size of the market. A small piece of the NASH market would likely be many times greater than the whole lipodystrophy market in terms of revenue possibilities for TH..
PWIB123 wrote: Wow! You're memory is long. What was teh difference in this Ph. 3 trial versus what they are attempting to do today?
Biobob wrote:
Merck KGaA finds value in Theratechnologies
Merck KGaA has come to the rescue of Theratechnologies, buying US rights to Tesamorelin, in phase III trials as a treatment for excess abdominal fat in HIV patients with lipodystrophy, in a deal worth up to $215m.
Phase III data on the product released so far has been disappointing, leading to predictions that the company would struggle to sign up a top tier pharmaceutical company; a prediction that appears to have come true (Tesamorelin data reduces options for Theratechnologies, June 23, 2008). Even so, the underwhelming response from investors was surprising, with the stock edging just 7% higher to C$2.35 in early trade.