Halozyme Therapeutics Wins Big on Roche License Agreement
Halozyme Therapeutics saw its shares make a handy gain early on Thursday after the firm announced that it licensed its Enhanze drug-delivery technology to Roche for exclusive development of an “undisclosed therapeutic target.”
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) saw its shares make a handy gain early on Thursday after the firm announced that it licensed its Enhanze drug-delivery technology to Roche for exclusive development of an “undisclosed therapeutic target.”
According to the agreement, Halozyme will receive an initial $30 million with the potential to earn additional payments of up to $160 million subject to regulatory and sales-based milestones. Halozyme also will receive tiered, mid-single digit royalties on sales of commercialized products.
Keep in mind that prior to the stock’s reaction, the company had a market cap of $1.85 billion, so these milestone payments would be significant for Halozyme.
For some quick background: the Enhanze drug-delivery technology is based on its patented recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme (rHuPH20). It has been shown to remove traditional limitations on the volume of biologics that can be delivered subcutaneously (just under the skin).
[nativounit]
Excluding Thursday’s move, Halozyme had outperformed the broad markets with the stock up 33% year to date. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock was up 22.5%.
Dr. Helen Torley, president and CEO, commented:
We are pleased to broaden our longstanding collaboration with Roche to include selection of a new target. With each new licensing agreement, we see the potential for our global partners to advance their innovative therapies, reducing the treatment burden for patients, caregivers and payers through shorter administration times or a less frequent dosing regimen.
Shares of Halozyme closed Wednesday at $13.18, with a consensus analyst price target of $17.44 and a 52-week range of $8.18 to $15.20. Following the announcement, the stock was up about 18% at $15.52 in early trading indications Thursday.
[wallst_email_signup]
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.
His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.
When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.
