Myovant Explodes on Pfizer Prostate Cancer Drug Collaboration News

Shares of Myovant were up nearly 30% on Monday on record trading volume after Wall Street learned that its parent company Sumitovant Biopharma unveiled an agreement with Pfizer Inc. to jointly develop a treatment for prostate cancer and women’s health.

The deal is worth up to $4.2 billion in upfront and potential milestone payments.
Both companies aim to jointly develop and sell relugolix and combination tablets using the same drug in the U.S. and Canada.

Relugolix has Food and Drug Administration approval in prostate cancer treatment. The FDA also is considering it for treatment of uterine fibroids and endometriosis.

“We are thrilled to partner with Pfizer to unlock the full potential of ORGOVYX in advanced prostate cancer and relugolix combination tablet in uterine fibroids and endometriosis, advancing our mission to redefine care for women and for men,” said Lynn Seely, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, Myovant Sciences, Inc.

“Pfizer is the ideal partner for Myovant given its impressive capabilities and track record across both oncology and women’s health. This transformative collaboration will significantly strengthen the upcoming launch of ORGOVYX and the potential launches of relugolix combination tablet in women’s health, while substantially enhancing our financial position and enabling us to expand our pipeline of potential new medicines.”

“We are excited to join forces with Myovant and combine our capabilities to bring ORGOVYX to patients with advanced prostate cancer,” said Andy Schmeltz, Global President, Pfizer Oncology. “This strategic collaboration builds on our leadership in serving prostate cancer patients in the U.S. and aligns with our goal to deliver more breakthroughs across the prostate cancer treatment paradigm.”

“There continues to be a high unmet need among the millions of women who experience the common and debilitating symptoms associated with uterine fibroids and endometriosis,” said Nick Lagunowich, Global President, Pfizer Internal Medicine. “We believe our deep heritage and leadership in women’s health combined with our experienced women’s health field force will enable us to maximize these opportunities with Myovant, potentially bringing valuable new treatment options to these women.”

According to VB Leerink analyst Ami Fadia, the deal is an “important external validation” that de-risks the opportunities in prostate cancer, uterine fibroids and endometriosis. Under the terms of the deal, Myovant will receive $650 million up front.

The company will also receive $200 million in milestone payments upon Food and Drug Administration approvals in women’s health.

Additionally, Myovant will receive tiered sales milestones upon reaching certain thresholds up to $2.5 billion in net sales for prostate cancer and women’s health disorders.

“Overall, we believe Myovant has positioned itself extremely well to launch Orgovyx (relugolix brand name for prostate cancer) in January 2021 and relugolix combination tablet in the women’s health indications starting with uterine fibroids (FDA review date) on June 1, 2021,” said Fadia, who has an outperform rating on MYOV stock.

The analyst thinks that the payments will strengthen Myovant’s balance sheet and that it is now “less likely that a full takeout is immediately around the corner.”

“However, we believe this is still a possibility now with two potential interested buyers in Pfizer in addition to Sumitomo,” Fadia added.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.