(Bloomberg) — Sangamo Therapeutics Inc. plummeted in early trading after Pfizer Inc. ended its partnership to develop a new gene therapy to treat hemophilia A.
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Sangamo is considering “all options” to continue developing the drug, including finding a new partner, the company said in a statement Monday.
The experimental medicine met its goal in a pivotal late-stage trial, and Sangamo said Pfizer had previously indicated that it expected to file for US and European approval in early 2025.
“We were extremely surprised and very disappointed” by Pfizer’s change of heart, Sangamo Chief Executive Officer Sandy Macrae said in a phone interview. The company learned of the decision on Dec. 22, he said.
Shares of Sangamo fell as much as 59% before the market opened in New York Tuesday. The stock previously was up 331% this year before Pfizer’s decision.
Sangamo has struggled with liquidity issues. Macrae said the company had been in line for up to $220 million in milestone payments under the agreement for the drug, called giroctocogene fitelparvovec. The company’s market value was just below $500 million before the Pfizer news hit.
Hemophilia A makes people more susceptible to bleeding and typically requires lifelong therapy. There are at least a dozen approved treatments, according to research from TD Cowen. Another gene therapy for hemophilia A developed by BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has been a commercial disappointment.
Pfizer said in an emailed statement that its analysis led it to believe “there is limited interest in an additional gene therapy option in this patient population at this time.”
Shares of Pfizer were little changed in early New York trading. The company has been looking for new drugs as sales of its Covid products plummet.
–With assistance from Kit Rees.
(Updates with premarket trading from fifth paragraph.)
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