Well we were certainly bombarded with wads of information these last weeks (release of two interviews, FDA progress, and another licensing deal). For those that missed it below are the four links
So here is the summary of my interpretation of Starpharma going forward and general information for those that are not sure what the company does
Starpharma's technology is based on Dendrimer Enhanced Products (DEP). What does this mean. Well in simplistic terms....they take oncology drugs and improve them. At the moment the company has 2 drugs in clinical trials. One in phase 1 (Dep Carbazitaxel) and the other in phase 2 (Dep Docetaxel). The Dep Docetaxel is also being trialled in combination with another cancer drug Nintedanib.
Starpharma has a third drug currently undergoing preclinical trials (Dep Irinotecan). According to the company it will go into Phase 1 trials this calendar year
Further to this Starpharma has another 5 candidates waiting in the wings to go forward (what stage of current development they are in..... one can only speculate)
What has been reinforced over and over again by Starpharma is the following
Once POC (proof of concept = Phase 2 completion) has been validated, the drugs will be licensed out for further development (Phase 3) to pharma's with deep pockets. All these drugs will attract massive upfront fees, with progress payments, and royalties once the oncology molecure hits the market
An example of this is the Dep Docetaxel molecule. Once again POC = completion of phase 2 trials. A figures of US$300 million is the licensing fee being bandied about. Remember the drug docetaxel was a $3 billion revenue earner for Sanofi Avantis before it lost patent protection. Could they be a possible frontrunner for the drug.....One could certainly think so.
Think about this. One drug $300 million + royalties. No further development costs. Multiply this by the number of internal oncology molecules Starpharma intends to obtain POC for. The company has mentioned three.... Dep Docetaxel, Dep Carbazitaxel, Dep Irinotecan + 5 more waiting to be developed in-house
Then there are the big pharma's who want to use Dep technology platform to develop their own unique products. An example of this is AstraZeneca..... with 3 products being developed by the company using Starpharma's drug delivery platform
Well Starpharma are there for all of them
For your information Starpharma has more than 100 patents
Talk about OPTIONALITY!!!
And then there arel the undisclosed collaborations, which Starpharma talks about all the time. Indications are these will be disclosed very shortly (definition of very shortly is open to interpreation.......however I would certaintly think it will be this calendar year)
Remember this.......Starpharma's technology can be applied to just about any oncology molecule, currently in the market, and off patent
Talk about OPTIONALITY!!!
So what about the vivagel product
Licensed to Mundipharma for Asia, Middle East, Africa, Latin America, 43 countries in Europe, Russia, and The Commonwealth of Independant States (CIS) - if my memory serves me correctly - this marketing and distribution deal exposes Vivagel BV to 163 countries. Was it AUD$33.3 million dollars plus generous revenue sharing. I think so. Starpharma will provide the product to Munipharma. Mundipharma will pay upfront for the product. How good is that. There are performous schedules that need to be adhered to (like minumum orders etc etc) and strict guidlines to adhere to....in order for Mundipharma to retain this exclusinve license.
And then there is the rest of world and US
According to Starpharma - US market share for pharmaceuticals compared to rest of globe is 55%
So doing a calculation......surely the US license will be worth around $50 million in upfront fees, and progress payments plus a generous revenue sharing agreement.
Expectations of FDA completion is in approximately 6 months.
This is going to be a cash cow for Starpharma
Remember the Bacterial Vaginosis market is very fragmented, with no one (except Starpharma), offering a solution for prevention of recurrence bacterial vaginosis (RBV) - Starpharma's modelling has the market at a US$1 billion. With such a powerful product as Vivagel BV hitting the stores shortly......not only will it be the only player for solution of RBV, it will be the major player in the field of management of BV and associated symptoms (US$750 million), using a non antibiotic product. And with this the market will surely grow.
Without dwelling on the Takeover target scenario.........I think we are now in play behind closed doors
SPL Price at posting:
$1.14 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
