Rosnilimab

The as-yet-unnamed, royalty-focused company will have “minimal infrastructure and staff,\" AnaptysBio said.\n AnaptysBio plans to split into two publicly traded companies, with one entity taking forward the biopharma’s clinical-stage pipeline and the other overseeing its royalty-based agreements.The crown jewel of the royalty-focused business will be payments related to Jemperli, the PD-1 blocking antibody that Anaptys discovered and has since brought its current owner GSK $2.7 billion in sales as an endometrial cancer and solid tumor drug. The pharma giant previously agreed to hand over 8% in royalties for Jemperli sales up to the first $1 billion, then 12% on sales between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, 20% of sales between $1.5 billion and $2 billion and 25% of sales above the $2.5 billion mark.However, Anaptys already monetized a portion of these potential royalties, meaning asset management firm Sagard gets the first $600 million in royalties the biotech had originally been owed. Anaptys calculates that Sagard will have received its full share at some point between mid-2027 and the second quarter of 2028.Another potential source of revenue for the royalties-focused spinoff is imsidolimab, a phase-3-stage pustular psoriasis drug Anaptys licensed to Vanda Pharmaceuticals for $10 million upfront earlier this year. The royalties company could be in line for up to $35 million in milestones if imsidolimab makes it all the way to market, on top of a 10% slice of net sales.The as-yet-unnamed, royalty-focused company will have “minimal infrastructure and staff,” Anaptys suggested in a Sept. 29 release.The split will leave San Diego-based Anaptys’ current pipeline in the hands of another, as-yet-unnamed company that will be headed up by the biopharma’s current CEO Daniel Faga. The pipeline will be led by rosnilimab, a PD-1 agonist that hit the goals of a phase 2 rheumatoid arthritis trial back in February. There is also ANB033, a CD122 antagonist undergoing a phase 1 study for celiac disease, as well as a phase 1-stage BDCA2 modulator called ANB101 that’s being targeted at autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.The separation of the two companies is expected to be complete by the end of 2026, with the biopharma business then armed with enough capital to keep it afloat for two years.“Anaptys is strategically positioned with multiple attractive, high-potential assets, including our development-stage pipeline consisting of rosnilimab, ANB033 and ANB101, as well as substantial potential royalties and milestone payments from our ongoing financial collaborations with GSK and Vanda,” Faga said in yesterday’s postmarket release.“In parallel with assessing multiple strategic options for rosnilimab in RA or UC, including securing a global partnership to help advance development in all indications or advancing in one phase 3 indication independently, today’s announcement to explore a separation of our wholly owned biopharma programs from our royalty assets is intended to provide investors with the opportunity to realize and enhance the potential value of two distinct sets of assets,” the CEO explained.

AnaptysBio wants to split into two companies to see if its pipeline and royalty assets will get more appreciation from investors if they stand alone. The San Diego biotech said Monday that it will start by exploring separating its business into two publicly traded companies. With three clinical-stage assets, including one on the verge of Phase 3, the company will need hefty funds to advance those experimental medicines. The company’s lead drug, a T cell depleter known as rosnilimab, is slated to have a Phase 2 readout in ulcerative colitis by the end of the year. AnaptysBio wants to find a global partner for the drug in UC, rheumatoid arthritis and other indications, though it can take the drug into Phase 3 in UC on its own. “Management was clear that the move was in no way a reflection on their confidence in the topline data readout of rosnilimab in UC,” TD Cowen analysts wrote in a Monday note. AnaptysBio’s pipeline also contains a CD122 antagonist called ANB033 that is in Phase 1b for celiac disease and is set to enter studies for inflammatory disease next year. A healthy volunteer trial is currently assessing the BDCA2 modulator known as ANB101 in inflammatory disease. Meanwhile, AnaptysBio wants to unlock the full value of its royalties at a time when the royalty business has picked up steam . The company receives royalties from GSK via their cancer drug Jemperli. AnaptysBio currently transfers the royalties from GSK to the royalty aggregator Sagard. Once Sagard gets $600 million from the royalty arrangement, AnaptysBio no longer has to fork over the royalties. The biotech anticipates that will happen between mid-2027 and the second quarter of 2028. GSK continues to test Jemperli in additional indications, meaning its sales could go up in the future and provide more royalties for AnaptysBio. The drug racked up £196 million (about $260 million) in revenue in the second quarter of this year. AnaptysBio also hopes to get milestone payments and royalties from Vanda regarding imsidolimab. The drug failed a trio of trials in 2021 and 2022 , leading to the AnaptysBio CEO’s resignation , but eventually cleared a Phase 3 in a rare form of psoriasis in 2023. The drug was transferred to Vanda, which is expected to submit an application to the FDA in the second half of this year. An approval in the US would trigger a $5 million milestone for AnaptysBio, up to another $30 million in milestones, and 10% royalty on sales.