AnaptysBio plans to split into two publicly traded companies, with one entity taking forward the biopharma’s clinical-stage pipeline and the other overseeing its royalty-based agreements.
The crown jewel of the royalty-focused business will be payments related to Jemperli, the PD-1 blocking antibody that Anaptys discovered and has since brought its current owner GSK $2.7 billion in sales as an endometrial cancer and solid tumor drug. The pharma giant previously agreed to hand over 8% in royalties for Jemperli sales up to the first $1 billion, then 12% on sales between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, 20% of sales between $1.5 billion and $2 billion and 25% of sales above the $2.5 billion mark.
However, Anaptys already monetized a portion of these potential royalties, meaning asset management firm Sagard gets the first $600 million in royalties the biotech had originally been owed. Anaptys calculates that Sagard will have received its full share at some point between mid-2027 and the second quarter of 2028.
Another potential source of revenue for the royalties-focused spinoff is imsidolimab, a phase-3-stage pustular psoriasis drug Anaptys licensed to Vanda Pharmaceuticals for $10 million upfront earlier this year. The royalties company could be in line for up to $35 million in milestones if imsidolimab makes it all the way to market, on top of a 10% slice of net sales.
The as-yet-unnamed, royalty-focused company will have “minimal infrastructure and staff,” Anaptys suggested in a Sept. 29 release.
The split will leave San Diego-based Anaptys’ current pipeline in the hands of another, as-yet-unnamed company that will be headed up by the biopharma’s current CEO Daniel Faga. The pipeline will be led by rosnilimab, a PD-1 agonist that hit the goals of a phase 2 rheumatoid arthritis trial back in February.
There is also ANB033, a CD122 antagonist undergoing a phase 1 study for celiac disease, as well as a phase 1-stage BDCA2 modulator called ANB101 that’s being targeted at autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
The separation of the two companies is expected to be complete by the end of 2026, with the biopharma business then armed with enough capital to keep it afloat for two years.
“Anaptys is strategically positioned with multiple attractive, high-potential assets, including our development-stage pipeline consisting of rosnilimab, ANB033 and ANB101, as well as substantial potential royalties and milestone payments from our ongoing financial collaborations with GSK and Vanda,” Faga said in yesterday’s postmarket release.
“In parallel with assessing multiple strategic options for rosnilimab in RA or UC, including securing a global partnership to help advance development in all indications or advancing in one phase 3 indication independently, today’s announcement to explore a separation of our wholly owned biopharma programs from our royalty assets is intended to provide investors with the opportunity to realize and enhance the potential value of two distinct sets of assets,” the CEO explained.