What happened
AnaptysBio (ANAB 0.47%) closed more than 10% higher on Friday. This followed news that a drug the company partnered on has received a positive opinion from an important multinational health agency.
So what
On Friday, the European Union's (EU) European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommended that the EU grant conditional marketing authorization for Jemperli (dostarlimab). This is an immunotherapy drug being developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK -0.92%) that treats recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer.
GlaxoSmithKline, a global pharmaceutical company, has partnered with immunotherapy specialist AnaptysBio on that drug and several other pipeline medicines. In all cases, AnaptysBio-generated antibodies are being utilized in those treatments.
Image source: Getty Images.
As AnaptysBio is a clinical-stage biotech, so at the moment it relies on collaboration revenue. This is why, in the Q4 of fiscal 2020 results released Thursday afternoon, GlaxoSmithKline was responsible for every penny of its $60 million in total revenue.
This stems from a one-time payment from another cancer drug, Zejula, which treats ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer. As of the beginning of this year, GlaxoSmithKline is paying a 1% royalty on global net sales of Zejula.
Now what
If dostarlimab is ultimately authorized by the EU, AnaptysBio will be on the hook to receive 8% to as much as 25% of its global net sales. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is also evaluating the drug. Since the company anticipates the FDA will grant its first approval for the drug later this year, its future seems bright.
