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View on pageImmutep raises $100m for ‘blockbuster drug

’Kylar LoussikianImmutep says it is less than three years away from a potential ‘‘blockbuster drug’’ after raising $100 million to finalise tria

ls of its lung cancer treatment.Shares in the ASX-listed oncology therapy hopeful have risen about 45 per cent in the past 12 months as the company nears the commercialisation of its drug, Efti.The therapy is combined with a top-selling treatment, Merck’s Keytruda, and coupled with chemotherapy to extend the life of patients.Immutep told investors yesterday it had also struck a collaboration agreement with Merck, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, to test Efti with Keytruda in a Phase III trial. Earlier trials have shown the combination extended the survival of patients beyond Keytruda alone and reduced side effects.Keytruda was approved for use in the United States in 2014, although it is known to have side effects including inflammation and pancreatitis. Marc Voigt, Immutep’s chief executive, said the total market for the drug was $US24 billion ($36 billion). ‘‘If you are successful, it is a potential massive return,’’ he told The Australian Financial Review yesterday. ‘‘This is a potential blockbuster drug.’’ Mr Voigt said Immutep had two pathways to commercialisation. ‘‘On one side, you have the drug development and clinical trials,’’ Mr Voigt said. ‘‘This is the last stage before the drug is approved [and] we can apply for approval in early 2027. ‘‘However, it happens that biotech companies are being acquired. It is more unlikely that the biotech brings the product to the market itself. ‘‘These are both valid scenarios.’’ The company said it would issue 189 million new shares at 38¢ each, netting $72 million at a 13.3 per cent discount to its 30-day average price. It will also raise $28.2 million through an entitlement offer open to institutional and retail shareholders. The Financial Review’s Street Talk column reported that a number of significant investors had taken up the company’s raise in June last year, including IFM Investors, Australian Ethical, Fidelity, Antares Capital, Perennial and Milford. A handful of health-focused funds, including Platinum, also joined the register.It will use $60 million of the new funding on clinical trials – not only for non-small cell lung cancer but also head and neck, and breast cancers – while $28 million will be put towards developing commercial-scale manufacturing processes for Efti.An estimated 1.87 million people per year are affected by lung cancer, the highest cause of death among all cancers.Russell Howard, Immutep’s chairman, told investors the company’s clinical program had ‘‘advanced significantly over the last year’’.‘‘Our lead product, Efti, has continued to deliver encouraging efficacy and safety results in multiple disease settings, in different therapeutic combinations,’’ Dr Howard said yesterday.‘‘Our confidence has deepened in Efti’s promise across lung, breast and head and neck cancer.’’After the raise, Immutep will have enough cash to continue until the end of 2026, Dr Howard added.The company’s shares last traded at 45¢, and have risen about 10¢, or 28 per cent, since the start of the year and about 45 per cent over the past 12 months, giving the company a market capitalisation of $530 million.Street TalkImmutep raises $100m for ‘blockbuster drug’