Voyager Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VYGR) stock is up by more than 25% today after the company agreed to a licensing deal with Novartis (NYSE:NVS).
Novartis will pay $100 million upfront in a “target-exclusive license” for Voyager’s RNA-based screening platform and access to a Huntington’s Disease treatment that is in pre-clinical trials. Depending on how the trials go, Voyager could get up to $1.2 billion in “milestone payments” and tiered royalties on global sales of products based on its screening platform.
VYGR stock opened on Jan. 2 at $10.53 per share and currently sports a market capitalization of around $470 million. Shares ended 2023 at about $8.50 per share.
VYGR Stock: Now, Voyager
Voyager offers a platform called TRACER that screens for compounds that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier to help treat diseases of the central nervous system. These kinds of diseases include Alzheimer’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s. In addition to Novartis, Voyager has partnerships with AstroZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN), Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) and others.
Biotech companies had a terrible 2023 and many firms suffered layoffs. But interest in deal-making is picking up as we enter into 2024.
Small biotechs like Voyager are becoming speculative targets. Most of these companies lack the capital to bring drugs to market and rely on larger companies to fund their research. Big pharma companies also have the capital to get drugs through the regulatory process and market them once they are approved.
Pharma companies will become political in 2024 as well. Specifically, the industry is pushing back against efforts around drug costs from President Joe Biden’s administration. These include price negotiations under Medicare and “march in” orders on patent rights for drugs derived from federal aid.
What Happens Next?
Investors can expect the industry to emphasize last year’s layoffs in its messaging moving forward. They can also expect the Biden administration to emphasize deals like Voyager’s in its own messaging.
On the date of publication, Dana Blankenhorn did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
