Arvinas, Inc. (ARVN) stock prices were up by 8.68% some time after market trading commenced on July 22nd, 2021, bringing the price per share up to USD$84.28 early on in the trading day.
Partnership with Pfizer
July 22nd, 2021 saw the company announce its global collaboration with Pfizer in order to develop and commercialize ARV-471, an investigational oral PROTAC, estrogen receptor protein degrader. The estrogen receptor has been shown to drive diseases in most cases and forms of breast cancer. The treatment is currently in Phase 2 dose expansion clinical trial, designed to treat patients with estrogen receptor (ER) positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negative (ER+/HER2-).
Details of the Agreement
As per the agreement, the partnering company will make an upfront payment of USD$650 million to ARVN, as well as a USD$350 million equity investment in the company. Global development costs, commercialization expenses, and profits will be split equally between the partnering companies. The combination of the company’s leadership in targeted protein degradation with Pfizer’s global capabilities and extensive expertise in breast cancer is expected to prove transformational.
Scope of ARV-471
This, in turn, will substantially enhance and accelerate the development and eventual commercialization of ARV-471 while concurrently advancing the company’s strategy of building a global and integrated biopharmaceutical company. Despite the advancement of the oncology space over recent years, there is still a sizeable unmet need that persists in the treatment of HR+ breast cancer. The partnership with Pfizer will see the deployment of PROTAC technology in a bid to help mitigate the devastation caused by the disease.
ARV-471’s Potential
December 2020 saw the company present interim data for its Phase 1 dose-escalation clinical trial of ARV-471 in patients with locally advanced or metastatic ER+/HER2- breast cancer. The treatment is indicated for its potential as a novel oral ER targeted therapy. Patients enrolled in the study were heavily pretreated, having been administered with cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitors. Despite the extensive pretreatment and the advanced stage of disease, the interim results demonstrated the treatment’s ability to promote substantial ER degradation and exhibits an encouraging clinical efficacy and tolerability profile.
Future Outlook for ARVN Stock
Armed with a massively expansive collaboration with Pfizer, the company is keen to make the most of the opportunities afforded to it as it expands and consolidates its market footprint. Current and potential investors are hopeful that management will be able to leverage the resources at their disposal to usher in organic growth over the long term.
