March 14th, 2022 | 12:47 CET
BioNTech, Defence Therapeutics, MorphoSys - Shares with blockbuster potential!
Developing a blockbuster drug is the highest achievement in the pharmaceutical industry. A blockbuster is defined as a drug that can generate more than USD 1 billion in revenues per year. According to experts, the vaccine Comirnaty, developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, is likely to have brought in sales of well over USD 30 billion, thus clearly breaking the blockbuster barrier. Outside of vaccine research, there are also numerous companies with high long-term potential.
time to read: 3 minutes | Author: Carsten Mainitz
ISIN: BIONTECH SE SPON. ADRS 1 | US09075V1026 , DEFENCE THERAPEUTICS INC | CA24463V1013 , MORPHOSYS AG O.N. | DE0006632003
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Author
Carsten Mainitz
The native Rhineland-Palatinate has been a passionate market participant for more than 25 years. After studying business administration in Mannheim, he worked as a journalist, in equity sales and many years in equity research.
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Defence Therapeutics - Comprehensive pipeline
Canadian company Defence Therapeutics is undoubtedly uniquely positioned with its patented Accum technology. It has blockbuster potential in the long term, but the road to a finished drug is still long.
Defence Therapeutics' business is divided into two segments. The first segment is immuno-oncology, the second is research into infectious diseases. Here, the young Company is researching vaccines against breast and skin cancer and is pursuing an innovative therapeutic approach in tumor therapy with the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). In the area of infectious diseases, Defence Therapeutics is researching vaccines against COVID-19 and the human papillomavirus (HPV).
At the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023, a phase I study is to start activities against breast and skin cancer. Until then, the necessary preliminary work will be carried out according to the principles of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). Further data will be collected that will be useful for further approval.
Recently, the first peer-reviewed efficacy study of AccuVAC-D001L was announced and published in the prestigious journal Cell Reports Medicine. Currently, only one FDA-approved DC vaccine is on the market to treat prostate cancer. However, the vaccine did not achieve the hoped-for clinical effect due to major obstacles related to antigen presentation by dendritic cells (DCs) versus responding T cells. This is where AccumTM technology proves to be an important advantage, as it allows circumventing the main enemy of any antigen, i.e. entrapment in the endosome.
The market capitalization of the Canadians is currently CAD 145 million. In an in-depth interview, Dr. Moutih Rafei, director and VP of R&D at Defence Therapeutics, highlights the strengths of Accum's platform technology.
MorphoSys - High depreciation
The MorphoSys share price knew only one direction last year, down. While the share was still quoted at prices above EUR 100 in 2021, it can currently be bought for EUR 23.60 per share. Last week, the Martinsried-based biotechnology company announced that it would have to take write-downs of around EUR 231 million. These write-downs are necessary following the acquisition of the US cancer specialist Constellation Pharmaceuticals. The write-downs are not cash-effective, but they will negatively impact the Group's operating result in the amount of EUR 231 million.
Despite the somewhat negative news, the share price reacted with gains. On March 16, the biotech group plans to publish its financial statements for the past fiscal year. After the high write-down on the US acquisition Constellation, Deutsche Bank left its rating for MorphoSys at "Hold", the price target was confirmed at EUR 46. The Company is currently valued at around EUR 800 million.
BioNTech - At important support
Vaccine producer BioNTech has also seen a sell-off in recent weeks, with the share price plummeting from USD 464.00 to currently USD 135.64 in recent months. The area around USD 131 is important here. Should this be broken, the next striking support area would be found at USD 105.
The three founders of the pharmaceutical Company BioNTech had something to celebrate. Ugur Sahin, Özlem Türeci and Christoph Huber were appointed honorary citizens by the city of Mainz. In doing so, Mainz wants to honor the "outstanding achievements of these exceptional scientists in the field of medical research and biotechnology." Operationally, BioNTech continues to expand its partnership with the US biotech company Regeneron to develop cancer therapies. The two partners are planning a joint clinical trial of BioNTech's cancer vaccine BNT116 in combination with Regeneron's cancer drug Libtayo to treat patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
BioNTech was able to launch a blockbuster with its Comirnaty vaccine. Defence Therapeutics also has the potential to generate annual sales in the billions with its Accum platform. At MorphoSys, on the other hand, there is a need for write-downs.
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