Investors continued to sell off shares in Sangamo Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SGMO) before market open on Tuesday following announcements that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) terminated their hemophilia A gene therapy co-development agreement.
White medicinal tablets. Photo by Kaboompics.com
As of 8:53 am on Tuesday, shares of the company declined anew by 50.85 percent to $1.08 each. The previous day’s trading also saw the firm’s stock price drop by 8.59 percent to end at $2.34 apiece.
Following Pfizer’s termination of the partnership, Sangamo now regains the rights to the development of giroctocogene fitelparvovec, an investigational gene therapy product candidate for the treatment of adults with moderately severe to severe hemophilia A.
According to the company, it intends to explore all options to advance the program, including seeking a potential new collaboration partner.
“Giroctocogene fitelparvovec has demonstrated the potential to be a life-changing gene therapy treatment for hemophilia A patients, and following positive results from the Phase 3 AFFINE trial, we believe it is well positioned for regulatory submissions and potential commercialization,” Sangamo Therapeutics Chief Executive Officer Sandy Macrae said.
“While we were surprised and extremely disappointed by Pfizer’s decision to end our collaboration so close to the anticipated BLA (Biologics License Applications) and MAA (Marketing Authorization Application) submissions, especially given the compelling pivotal clinical trial data, we appreciate their collaboration in leading a robust and successful clinical development program and for advancing the asset to this important stage. We are committed to exploring the optimal path forward for this important treatment, including seeking the right partner with the focus and understanding of the genomic medicine commercial environment to bring this medicine to patients,” he added.
“In parallel, we remain focused on advancing our wholly owned neurology genomic medicine pipeline and progressing our Fabry gene therapy program towards a potential BLA submission in the second half of 2025.”
The collaboration and license agreement with Pfizer will terminate effective April 21, 2025, at which time Pfizer will be required to transition the giroctocogene fitelparvovec program back to Sangamo. All trial participants will continue to be monitored as planned during the transition period.
Sangamo was optimistic that its recently announced partnerships with Genentech and Astellas, and advanced business development discussions for its Fabry gene therapy program, will allow it to chart a path forward for its neurology genomic medicine pipeline.
