QUESTION: "Are there any examples of
FIC and BIC drugs that have initially gone down the
licensing path before a
buyout?"
ANSWER: The answer to your question is
YES, there are.
Here is a summary of one FIC drug that I found, including its story in brief (I hope it helps answer your questions - some of which I have assumed you might have too due to the interest I too have, as a shareholder).
GREAT question, by the way!
Example: IMBRUVICA (ibrutinib) by PHARMACYCLICS
Under Pharmacyclics, Ibrutinib, a First in Class (FIC) drug for treating B-cell malignancies (the first to target a the BTK pathway), reached Phase 2 trials in/by 2011. The early phase results were good, and more resources were needed for the next stages (Phase 3 trials and regulatory approvals and eventual commercialisation).
BTW, it seems Pharmacyclics had been working on this specific project since 2006.
LICENSING
In
2011, Pharmacyclics entered a collaborative and
licensing agreement with Jensen (a J&J subsidiary). The agreement was for Co-Development and Co-Comercialisation. The deal;
a) Jensen to make a $150million upfront payment to Pharmacyclics, plus,
b) Milestone payments of up to $825 million,
c) Costs and Profit sharing: 50-50 share of costs of development and profit in the US,
d) International markets split appears different (so I will leave that out)
Late stage trials were done and were a success.
FDA approvals followed: Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) in
2013 and for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) in
2014.
The drug was a commercial success too, with over $1billion annual sales predicted by 2015, amid expanding indications.
BUYOUT!
In
2015, AbbVie bought Pharmacyclics for
US$21 billion.
The price was $261.25 per share, a 40% premium over the trading price at the time.
Jensen did not receive any payment from this lump sum! They retained the rights given by the license.
Life after that BUYOUT?
Imbruvica has been a huge success, generating over US$8 billion in
2020!
Jensen have continued to benefit from the licensing and profit sharing agreement with Pharmacyclics (an AbbVie company), which includes a 50% share of US revenue.
And yes, Pharmacyclics still exists as an AbbVie company!
(20min delay)