Shares of Zymeworks ZYME have surged 28.9% in the past three months compared with the industry’s 8.2% growth.
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This upside was attributed to Zymeworks’ out-licensing of development and commercial rights for its lead pipeline candidate, zanidatamab, to Jazz Pharmaceuticals JAZZ in October. In consideration for entering into the deal, Jazz made an upfront payment of $50 million to Zymeworks.
As part of this agreement, Jazz was granted an exclusive option to continue the collaboration further. Earlier this month, Jazz exercised this option and will now hold exclusivedevelopment and commercialization rights to zanidatamab across all its indications in all territories except in Asia/Pacific territories (where the drug has already been licensed to BeiGene).
In consideration for exercising the option, Jazz will pay an upfront payment of $325 million to Zymeworks. This payment will be made in fourth-quarter 2022.
Jazz decided to exercise its option based on Zymeworks’ recently announced positive topline data from the pivotal phase IIb HERIZON-BTC-01 study, which evaluated zanidatamabin previously treated HER2-amplified biliary tract cancers (BTC). Data from the study showed that about 41% of study participants achieved an objective response. The median duration of response was 12.9 months. Based on this data, Jazz expects zanidatamab to become the next standard-of-care treatment in BTC.
Apart from the above payments, Zymeworks will also be eligible to receive regulatory milestone payments of up to $525 million and up to $862.5 million on achieving certain commercial milestones. Jazz will also be paying Zymeworks tiered royalties between 10% to 20% of the net sales if and when zanidatamab is approved and marketed. Thus, the deal has the potential to reach a total valuation of $1.76 billion
Developed by Zymeworks, zanidatamab is an investigational antibody candidate that has been designed as a treatment option for patients with solid tumors that express HER2.
Apart from BTC, Zymeworks is also evaluating zanidatamab in breast cancer and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA) indications. Earlier this month, ZYME announced positive data from a clinical study that evaluated the novel combination of zanidatamab, palbociclib, and fulvestrant in patients with heavily pretreated HER2-positive HR-positive metastatic breast cancer. The results showed an overall confirmed objective response rate (cORR) of 33%, disease control rate (DCR) of 92% and median progression-free survival (mPFS) of 9.6 months.
Apart from zanidatamab, Zymeworks is also developing zanidatamab zovodotin (ZW49) for a range of HER-2-expressing cancers. The candidate is currently undergoing a phase I study to establish its safety and antitumor activity in humans.
Zymeworks Inc. Price
Zymeworks Inc. price | Zymeworks Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Zymeworks currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some other top-ranked stocks in the overall healthcare sector include Kamada KMDA and Sanofi SNY. While Kamada sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Sanofi carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
In the past 60 days, estimates for Kamada’s 2022 loss per share have narrowed from 14 cents to 7 cents. During the same period, the earnings estimates per share for 2023 have risen from 26 cents to 42 cents. Shares of Kamada have declined 42.4% in the year-to-date period.
Earnings of Kamada beat estimates in two of the last four quarters and missed the mark twice, witnessing a negative earnings surprise of 62.50%, on average. In the last reported quarter, Kamada’s earnings beat estimates by 433.33%.
In the past 60 days, estimates for Sanofi’s 2022 earnings per share have risen from $4.04 to $4.27. During the same period, the earnings estimates per share for 2023 have risen from $4.22 to $4.31. Shares of Sanofi have declined 4.0% in the year-to-date period.
The earnings of Sanofi beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, witnessing an earnings surprise of 9.50%, on average. In the last reported quarter, Sanofi’s earnings beat estimates by 9.85%.
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