In a bid to expand its oncology pipeline has announced it will acquire under a definitive agreement. The proposed $10.1bn acquisition will see AbbVie purchase ImmunoGen鈥檚 outstanding shares at $31.26 per share. The acquisition is expected to be completed in mid-2024.
On an investor call following the announcement this morning (30 November), AbbVie鈥檚 executive vice president and chief financial officer Scott Reents, said the funding of the transaction will be driven by a combination of cash and debt. The exact split of cash and debt has not been indicated, but Reents anticipates that AbbVie will spend at least $2bn in cash in the acquisition.
Through the transaction, AbbVie will gain an asset in Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx), ImmunoGen鈥檚 lead antibody-drug candidate (ADC), which received an accelerated approval to treat folate receptor alpha (FR伪)-positive, platinum resistant ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, in November 2022.
As per AbbVie鈥檚 executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Jeffrey Stewart, AbbVie plans to take advantage of ImmunoGen鈥檚 “triple play” of studies expanding Elahere鈥檚 scope to treat sensitive populations. The potential for combinations makes Elahere unique, Stewart added.
Elahere is being trialled in three studies for platinum sensitive ovarian cancer; in combination with Roche鈥檚 Avastin (bevacizumab) in the Phase III GLORIOSA study (NCT05445778), as a monotherapy in the Phase II PICCOLO trial (NCT05041257), and with carboplatin in another Phase II study (NCT05456685).
鈥淭he first [platinum resistant] population is very significant, annualizing at over $400m. But it鈥檚 really the expansion opportunities into sensitive, medium expressors, and ultimately frontline that would balance out the multibillion-dollar opportunity,鈥� said Stewart on the call.
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By GlobalDataElahere generated net sales of $105.2m in Q3 2023. As per a GlobalData consensus forecast, the ADC is estimated to earn peak sales of $1.43bn in 2029.
GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology.
Elahere鈥檚 accelerated approval was based on key objective response rate (ORR) and duration of response (DOR) data recorded in the Phase III SORAYA study (NCT04296890) which studied the drug in folate receptor alpha (FR伪)-positive platinum resistant ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer. The ADC is designed to eliminate targeted cancer cells by binding to FR伪, resulting in the intracellular release of potent cytotoxic tubulin inhibitor DM4 which arrests the cell cycle and subsequently causes cancer cell death.
More recently in October, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) accepted ImmunoGen鈥檚 marketing authorization application (MAA) for Elahere in the same indication. The EMA鈥檚 decision was based on data from the Phase III MIRASOL study (NCT04209855), which did a head-to-head comparison of Elahere versus a chemotherapy of the investigator鈥檚 choice.
