RE:RE:The list of potential of BuyersDecember 22, 2022 - Pfizer takes an equity stake in ORIC Pharmaceuticals now giving the biotech enough cash to run operations through the first half of 2025 thanks to a $25 million equity investment and a new clinical partnership with Pfizer.
The pharma giant will work with the therapeutic resistance-focused biotech on ORIC-533, an oral small molecule inhibitor of CD73 in phase 2 development for multiple myeloma. There is some rationale for combining Pfizer's PARP inhibitor with CD73 in this setting.
The news sent ORIC's shares climbing Thursday morning to $4.92, a more than 60% boost over the closing price of $3.
Pfizer picked up a little over 5 million shares in ORIC at a price of $4.65 apiece for a total of $25 million. The bite-sized investment tracks with Pfizer’s recent deal activity, which has included smaller bolt-ons rather than a blockbuster deal the industry knows it has the cash to execute. Pfizer executives have indicated an appetite for deal making after its success in developing the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty.
ORIC will gain access to Pfizer’s global development capabilities to drive ORIC-533 through the clinic but keeps full ownership rights. The med will be tested with Pfizer’s experimental BCMA bispecific antibody elranatamab.