NEW YORK, April 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Royalty Pharma plc (Nasdaq: RPRX) today announced that it has acquired a royalty interest in the cabozantinib products Cabometyx and Cometriq from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for an upfront payment of $342 million and up to $50 million in additional payments contingent on the achievement of regulatory approvals of cabozantinib for prostate cancer and lung cancer in the U.S. and Europe.
Cabometyx, a multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), is approved for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) both as monotherapy and in combination with Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo (nivolumab) as a first line treatment. Cabometyx is also approved for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients previously treated with sorafenib. Cometriq is approved for progressive, metastatic medullary thyroid cancer. Cabometyx and Cometriq are marketed by Exelixis in the United States, and by their partner Ipsen in regions outside the U.S. and Japan. Cabometyx is marketed in Japan by Exelixis’ partner Takeda.
“We are delighted to acquire this royalty stream from GSK,” said Pablo Legorreta, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Royalty Pharma. “Cabometyx is a leading TKI for the treatment of advanced kidney and liver cancer. The recent U.S. approval for the first line treatment of advanced kidney cancer in combination with Opdivo represents an important advance for patients to improve treatment outcomes and quality of life. We are impressed by the broad development program supporting Cabometyx, which includes additional studies in RCC, HCC and the potential to expand into prostate and lung cancer, as well as the strong global commercial execution.”
GSK is entitled to a 3% royalty on worldwide net sales of cabozantinib products as a result of its 2002 collaboration with Exelixis. Under this transaction’s terms, Royalty Pharma has purchased royalties on cabozantinib products’ net sales in non-U.S. markets through the full term of the royalty and royalties on net sales in the U.S. through September 2026, after which U.S. royalties will remain with GSK.
In 2020, sales of Cabometyx and Cometriq reported by Exelixis and Ipsen were $742 million and €289 million, respectively.
Goodwin Procter, Dechert and Maiwald acted as legal advisors to Royalty Pharma on the transaction.
About Royalty Pharma plc
Founded in 1996, Royalty Pharma is the largest buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties and a leading funder of innovation across the biopharmaceutical industry, collaborating with innovators from academic institutions, research hospitals and not-for-profits through small and mid-cap biotechnology companies to leading global pharmaceutical companies. Royalty Pharma has assembled a portfolio of royalties which entitles it to payments based directly on the top-line sales of many of the industry’s leading therapies. Royalty Pharma funds innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry both directly and indirectly – directly when it partners with companies to co-fund late-stage clinical trials and new product launches in exchange for future royalties, and indirectly when it acquires existing royalties from the original innovators. Royalty Pharma’s current portfolio includes royalties on more than 45 commercial products, including AbbVie and J&J’s Imbruvica, Astellas and Pfizer’s Xtandi, Biogen’s Tysabri, Gilead’s HIV franchise, Merck’s Januvia, Novartis’ Promacta, and Vertex’s Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko and Trikafta, and five development-stage product candidates. For more information, visit www.royaltypharma.com.
