Alchemia to pursue deals for core assets
Alchemia (ASX:ACL) plans to pursue a sale or partnership for its HyACT oncology platform after its phase III trial of HA-Irinotecan as part of the FOLFIRI regimen did not meet its primary endpoint.
The company has completed a broad-ranging strategic review in the wake of the negative trial outcome and decided to pursue partnering or sales opportunities for each of its core assets.
In a market update, Alchemia revealed plans to return all revenue from its share of the sales of anti-coagulant generic fondaparinux minus the costs of running the core business functions of a listed company.
This will allow it to provide future dividends to shareholders until its licensing deal with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories is expired. At the same time, the company will explore the possible sale of its fondaparinux asset.
In addition, the company will aim for a sale, partnership or demerger arrangement for its HyACT platform.
The failure of the HA-Irinotecan trial suggests that Alchemia will have trouble securing regulatory approval. Post-hoc analysis of the results suggests a number of possibilities for the negative results, including gender effects or the order in which HA-Irinotecan is introduced to the FOLFIRI regimen.
While the company plans to request a meeting with the US FDA to discuss the results and the possible next steps, any potential approval would likely require additional trials.
As a result, if investigations confirm there is value in HA-Iriontecan or the HyACT platform, the company has decided to seek a partner to help fund the development.
Alternatively, the company will consider a sale of the assets or spin-out of the business so Alchemia shareholders do not have to bear the costs of the additional trials.
The company has also targeted a transaction for its drug discovery platform VAST, being developed in partnership with academic institutions and AstraZeneca, with the goal of securing an investor or partner to help accelerate its development.
Alchemia (ASX:ACL) shares were trading 17.8% lower at $0.074 as of around 2 pm on Thursday.
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