Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd (SIX: BSLN), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today an update on the progress made in the implementation of its strategic focus on anti-infectives.
David Veitch, Chief Executive Officer, stated: “We have made significant progress in the implementation of our new strategy. With regard to our oncology business, we have run a broad partnering process, whilst continuing to generate clinical data from the ongoing clinical trials. This allows us now to make informed decisions on each asset in order to ensure that we can focus our resources on our anti-infectives business as of 2023. The ERADICATE phase 3 study exploring ceftobiprole for the treatment of patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, or SAB, is on track to report results shortly and the preclinical profiling of the recently in-licensed potential first-in-class antifungal has also been initiated.”
Partnering discussions for the TTK/PLK1-inhibitor (BAL0891) and preclinical oncology assets are well advanced and expected to be concluded in H2 2022. In line with its strategic priorities and based on data from the ongoing open-label studies, Basilea has decided not to expand the studies for the tumor checkpoint controller lisavanbulin. Ongoing patients will be offered continued access to lisavanbulin, whilst partnering opportunities continue to be explored.
With regard to the FGFR inhibitor derazantinib, the company has decided to terminate the license agreement and return the rights to Merck & Co, Inc. by the end of the year.1
Adesh Kaul, Chief Financial Officer, added: “Our broad partnering outreach has resulted, as intended, in discussions on a variety of possible partnering structures. We concluded that entering into separate transactions for our oncology assets would generate most long-term value. With regard to derazantinib, the changing competitive landscape and the evolving clinical data from our open-label studies led us to conclude that a transaction could not be closed at the terms and within the timelines required. We believe that based on the partnering progress and our portfolio decisions we are now well on track to ensure that Basilea generates sustainable positive operating cash flow and profits as of 2023.”
