Seagen Inc.

Pfizer CEO Dr Albert Bourla presided over an exceptional Q3 amid financial decline and pressure from investor Starboard Value. Credit: Ververidis Vasilis / Shutterstock. Pfizer has reported strong revenues in its latest earnings report, noting increased revenues over Q3 2023 largely due to sales from the company’s Covid-19 drugs Paxlovid and Comirnaty. In the 29 October report, Pfizer stated overall revenues in Q3 2024 had risen by 31% compared to the same quarter in the previous year, amounting to an additional $4.3bn. Of the total $17.7bn in Q3 revenues, $2.7bn and $1.4bn were derived from sales of Paxlovid and Comirnaty, respectively, which together accounted for almost half of the company’s year-over-year growth. The robust Q3 report did little to affect share price, although traded share volume rose to a level unseen since the company acquired Seagen in December 2023. Pfizer’s market cap is currently $161bn. This month has also seen disruption to the company’s management, as activist hedge fund Starboard Value took a $1bn stake in Pfizer, equivalent to 0.6% of the company at the time of purchase. Aiming to steer a turnaround in Pfizer’s fortunes, Starboard accused company executives of “ coercive conduct ” against former CEO Ian Read and former CFO Frank D’Amelio who retracted support after initially supporting the fund’s plans. In the Q3 conference call, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla stated: “While we agree with some of the points [Starboard] raised, we have vastly different views on many others.” See Also: How a patient helped shape a treatment for rare skin disorder ARIA-E risk of Lilly’s Kisunla in Alzheimer’s reduced with modified dosing He noted common dissatisfaction with shareholder return, but disagreed with Starboard’s challenge of Pfizer’s capital deployment, saying the company’s deals with Seagen and BioNTech “have been transformational for Pfizer”. Nonetheless, Bourla said some changes have been made at Pfizer this year to address Starboard’s such as separating US and international business and restructuring company management. The 31% Q3 growth over Q3 2023 was in sharp contrast to the overall growth of 2% for the first nine months of 2024 compared to those of 2023. Consequently, Pfizer has adjusted its financial guidance, raising projected revenues for 2024 to between $61bn and $64bn, up $1.5bn from estimates made in the company’s Q2 statement. This includes estimated sales of $5bn and $5.5bn from Comirnaty and Paxlovid, respectively, bringing the full year’s expected growth to 9% to 11% over 2023. Pfizer also attributed upticks in 2024 Q3 revenue to $854m in quarterly sales due to its acquisition of Seagen. Alongside this were increased operational revenues of 9% for Eliquis (apixaban), 28% for Xtandi (enzalutamide), 45% for Vydura (rimegepant sulfate), and 63% for Pfizer’s Vyndagel family (tafamidis) against equivalent quarterly revenues the previous year. Some drug-specific revenues did see decreases. Namely, revenues for Xeljanz (tofacitinib citrate) were down 35% and decreased by 12% for Ibrance (palbociclib) compared to Q3 2023. Drops in sales were attributed to label changes, lowered US net price, and expiry of exclusivity in Canada for Xeljanz, as well as competitive pressure and international price decreases for Ibrance. Bourla and Pfizer CFO David Denton gave statements attributing the company’s strong Q3 in part to ongoing cost reduction efforts and heightened demand for Paxlovid during the recent wave of Covid-19.

Antibody maker Paragon Therapeutics has formed another company, this time in the bustling cancer space of PD-1xVEGF, and it will go straight onto the public markets. The new biotech, named Crescent Biopharma, will take the place of GlycoMimetics on the Nasdaq, the companies said Tuesday morning. GlycoMimetics has failed multiple mid- and late-stage trials in recent months, including one for acute myeloid leukemia . The PD-1xVEGF space has become quite popular in recent months thanks to Keytruda-beating data from Summit Therapeutics and its Chinese partner Akeso. Former Seagen CEO David Epstein also joined a preclinical biotech, named Ottimo Pharma , on Monday that hopes to get bought out after Phase 1 data. BioNTech is also in the race. Crescent’s program, codenamed CR-001, will have initial proof of concept data in the second half of 2026, the company said. It also has two antibody-drug conjugates, another en-vogue area for oncology R&D. “This transaction and financing enable a potentially rapid development path for CR-001, and for the antibody-drug conjugate programs CR-002 and CR-003,” Crescent interim CEO Jonathan Violin said in a statement. Violin is also a venture partner at Fairmount, which is one of the investors supporting a concurrent $200 million financing for the merger, which will keep the R&D engine humming “through 2027,” the company said. Paragon has formed multiple autoimmune-focused biotechs over the past two years. Apogee went public via a traditional IPO, whereas other startups from its universe have landed on the public markets by way of reverse mergers, including Oruka and Spyre . In August, Paragon debuted another offshoot, named Jade Biosciences , with just a chief scientific officer and $80 million. Crescent’s shareholders will own almost all of the combined company, at 96.9%. The deal is anticipated to close in the second quarter of 2025.

David Epstein, formerly CEO of Seagen, joins as Chair & Chief Executive Officer Mehdi Shahidi, previously SVP and Chief Medical Officer at Boehringer Ingelheim, joins as Head of Development & Chief Medical Officer James Sabry, ex-Head of Pharma Partnering at Roche, joins the Board as Vice-Chair LONDON and BOSTON, Oct. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ottimo Pharma, a private biotech company, announces the appointment of world class industry veterans David Epstein as Chair & Chief Executive Officer, Mehdi Shahidi as Head of Development & Chief Medical Officer and James Sabry as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors. Ottimo Pharma, co-founded by Medicxi and Jonny Finlay in 2020, is developing Jankistomig, a PD1-VEGFR2 bi-functional antibody, designed as a dual-pathway, single agent, IgG therapy targeting immune checkpoint inhibition and angiogenesis in the treatment of cancer. David Epstein, Chair & Chief Executive Officer of Ottimo Pharma, said: "This new medicine is exquisitely designed and offers large potential benefits to patients across a wide range of solid tumors. It will be exciting to scale the team and deliver on the promise to patients." James Sabry, Vice-Chair of the Board of Ottimo Pharma, said: "I am excited to join the Board of this highly innovative company with a beautifully designed medicine that has the potential to change the face of cancer immunotherapy." Jankistomig's unique mode of action blocks the PD1 and VEGF pathways, leveraging its high affinity for PD1 to enhance tumor immune cell biodistribution while minimizing VEGF-related adverse effects, specifically due to its intentionally designed interaction with VEGFR2. Ottimo Pharma's goal is to improve cancer treatment outcomes and reduce healthcare burden through this novel combination of mechanisms of action. Over the last three years, Ottimo Pharma has been running the full pre-clinical characterization of the molecule and anticipates filing an IND in late 2025. Francesco De Rubertis, Board Member at Ottimo Pharma & Partner at Medicxi, commented: "As we launch Ottimo Pharma, I am confident that the combined expertise of this stellar leadership team will help accelerate the transformation of the original insight by Jonny Finlay in his Scottish lab into a best-in class asset in cancer therapy." Jonny Finlay, Scientific Founder & Advisor at Ottimo Pharma, added: "I am extremely excited to see Ottimo Pharma come out of stealth. I can't wait to see the scientific and clinical breakthroughs made by this superb team and this deeply differentiated molecule." David Epstein, newly appointed Chair of the Board of Directors & Chief Executive Officer, brings over 30 years of experience in drug development, deal making and commercialization, with a strong track record of success. Most recently, David served as CEO of Seagen, and as a member of its Board, until its acquisition by Pfizer in late 2023. From 2010 to 2016, he served as CEO of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, a division of Novartis AG, and earlier in his career, he founded and led Novartis' Oncology and Molecular Diagnostics units. Mehdi Shahidi, MD, joins Ottimo Pharma as Head of Development & CMO, bringing a wealth of expertise in oncology drug development. With over two decades of experience in pharma, including Global Head of Medicine, Oncology and SVP & Chief Medical Officer at Boehringer Ingelheim, he has overseen the clinical development, regulatory filing and registration of multiple drugs. Mehdi completed his clinical oncology training at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London and had a successful clinical and research career in oncology before transitioning to the pharmaceutical industry. James Sabry, MD, PhD, joins Ottimo Pharma's Board as non-executive Vice-Chair, with over 30 years of experience in business development and partnering. He currently serves as EVP, Chief Business Officer of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. Prior to this, James was previously Global Head and EVP of Roche Pharma Partnering where he was instrumental in securing key deals that have significantly advanced the company's R&D pipeline and led to the launch of numerous new medicines. From 2010, he was Senior Vice President of Genentech Partnering. About Ottimo Pharma Ottimo Pharma is a private biotechnology company, co-founded in 2020 by Medicxi and Jonny Finlay, focused on the development of pioneering innovative cancer therapies for solid tumors. The Company's lead program, Jankistomig, is a PD1-VEGFR2 bi-functional antibody designed to target both immune checkpoint inhibition and angiogenesis in a single IgG therapy. By advancing this dual-pathway approach, Ottimo Pharma aims to improve cancer treatment outcomes and reduce overall healthcare burden. The Company boasts a world-class leadership team, including David Epstein as Chair and CEO, Mehdi Shahidi as Head of Development and CMO, and James Sabry as Vice-Chair of the Board. Ottimo Pharma anticipates filing an IND in late 2025. About Medicxi Medicxi is a healthcare-focused investment firm with the mission to create and invest in companies across the full drug development continuum. Leveraging deep expertise in drug development and company creation spanning over two decades, Medicxi invests in early and late-stage therapeutics with a product vision that can fulfill a clear unmet medical need. For more information, please visit: . SOURCE Ottimo Pharma WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED