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Blueprint Medicines, Roche to Develop Pralsetinib for Cancer

Blueprint Medicines Corporation BPMC announced that it has entered into a global collaboration agreement with Genentech, a subsidiary of Roche RHHBY, to develop/commercialize the precision therapy, pralsetinib, of the former.

The candidate is being developed for treating patients with RET-fusion non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), other thyroid cancers as well as other solid tumors.

Per the deal, Blueprint Medicines will receive an upfront payment of $775 million (cash payment of $675 million and an equity investment of $100 million) from Roche. The company will also receive up to an additional fee of $927 million in development, regulatory and sales-based milestones. Moreover, it is entitled to receive tiered royalties in the range of high-teens to mid-twenties on net sales of pralsetinib outside the United States.

Going by the agreement, Blueprint Medicines along with Roche will co-commercialize pralsetinib and equally share profits in the United States while the latter will get exclusive commercialization rights to pralsetinib in ex-U.S. markets excluding Greater China. Both companies plan to expand the development of pralsetinib in multiple treatment settings.

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The press release states that the above-mentioned collaboration deal with Roche will help Blueprint Medicines transform into a leading precision medicine company, investing in pipeline candidates with a strong financial position.

In March 2016, Blueprint Medicines inked a collaboration deal with Roche to discover, develop and commercialize up to four small-molecule therapies, targeting kinases in cancer immunotherapy, either as monotherapies or combination therapies.

Notably, CStone Pharmaceuticals will retain all the rights to develop/commercialize pralsetinib in Greater China.

Shares of Blueprint Medicines were up in pre-market trading on Tuesday following the announcement of the aforementioned deal. However, the stock has declined 4.3% so far this year against the industry’s increase of 6.7%.


Earlier this month, Blueprint Medicines submitted a new drug application (NDA) to the FDA for pralsetinib to address patients with advanced or metastatic RET mutant MTC as well as RET fusion-positive thyroid cancers.

In May 2020, Blueprint Medicines filed an NDA to the FDA as well as marketing applications in the EU for pralsetinib to address RET fusion-positive NSCLC.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Blueprint Medicines currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other top-ranked stocks in the healthcare sector include Emergent Biosolutions Inc. EBS and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. BMRN, both presently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Emergent’s earnings estimates have been revised 26.7% upward for 2020 and 29.8% for 2021 over the past 60 days. The stock has soared 69.2% year to date.

BioMarin’s earnings estimates have moved 3.3% north for 2020 and 13.4% for 2021 over the past 60 days. The stock has surged 47.1% year to date.

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Roche Holding AG (RHHBY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Emergent Biosolutions Inc. (EBS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Blueprint Medicines Corporation (BPMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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