What happened
Shares of MacroGenics (MGNX -8.79%) were up more than 11% as of 3 p.m. EST on Thursday afternoon. The biotech company specializes in monoclonal antibody-based oncology therapies and has one product, Margenza, used in combination with chemotherapy to treat adults with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. The reason for the stock's climb was the company's sale of its royalty interest on Tzield (teplizumab-mzwv) in a deal worth as much as $200 million to DRI Healthcare Trust.
So what
The deal, besides giving MacroGenics a needed injection of capital, stipulates that the company could also receive payments based on regulatory and commercial milestones. MacroGenics will receive a $100 million upfront payment plus 50% of the royalty on global net sales above a certain threshold, and an additional $50 million for reaching a certain level of sales. Tzield was approved in November by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes.
MacroGenics only had $41.7 million in revenue in the third quarter of 2022 and a net loss of $24.8 million, along with $123.6 million in cash, so the additional money will likely be used to fund the development of its pipeline, which includes eight other therapies. In Q3, the company said it had enough cash to fund operations until September of 2024.
Now what
MacroGenics has been active in collaborations with other companies, including partnerships with Gilead Sciences, Provention Bio, ImmunoGen, and Zai Lab. The latest deal should extend the company's cash position past its previous window. That's important because the company's pipeline offers plenty of promise, and the company has already been able to get approval for two of its drugs. One of its pipeline drugs, lorigerlimab, did well in a recent phase 1 study as a treatment for prostate cancer. With an improved cash position, MacroGenics appears to be a better long-term play for investors.
