Leqembi sales inch higher; Spark’s pivot leads to layoffs
Today, a brief rundown of news from Eisai, Spark Therapeutics and Ipsen as well as updates from Element Biosciences and Novartis that you may have missed.
New data from Symphony Health indicate sales of Eisai and Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi totaled $11 million in June, suggesting Wall Street forecasts of around $30 million for the second quarter are in reach, Jefferies analyst Michael Yee wrote in an investor note. Yet Christopher Raymond, an analyst at Piper Sandler, noted separately that patient uptake is still “not lighting the world on fire” and highlighted how doctors remain skeptical of Leqembi’s benefits and safety. Eisai, which has scaled back its launch expectations, estimates global sales will reach $360 million globally through the end of next March. — Ned Pagliarulo
Spark Therapeutics, the gene therapy developer now owned by Roche, this week began laying off some employees as part of a strategic “pivot” the company announced in May, a spokesperson confirmed to BioPharma Dive. The shift involved the discontinuation of several early-stage programs. Spark lists gene therapies for hemophilia A and Pompe disease in its pipeline, and developed the hemophilia B gene therapy Pfizer now sells as Beqvez. — Ned Pagliarulo
Ipsen has licensed an antibody-drug conjugate from startup Foreseen Biotechnology in a deal potentially worth up to $1.03 billion, the French drugmaker said Thursday. Ipsen said the ADC, which is currently in preclinical testing, targets a “novel tumor-associated antigen” that is overexpressed in many solid tumors. It’s the second ADC Ipsen has bet on since April, when the company acquired rights to a drug discovered by Sutro Biopharma. — Ben Fidler
San Diego-based Element Biosciences raised $277 million in a Series D financing led by Wellington Partners. Element will use the cash to help commercialize its DNA sequencer AVITI and launch a new research tool that can help scientists examine DNA, RNA, proteins and other molecules within single cells. The startup has now raised $680 million since launching in 2017. — Gwendolyn Wu
Novartis is closing a San Diego facility involved in gene therapy production, the San Diego Union Tribune reported Wednesday. The site’s closure is part of a restructuring of Novartis’ product development organization that will result in 680 job cuts, 240 of which are in the U.S. A total of 100 layoffs are expected by the time the facility is wound down in 2025, according to the newspaper. — Ben Fidler
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