Financially troubled Portage Biotech Inc (NASDAQ: PRTG) soared on Tuesday after revealing that it had signed a letter of intent (LOI) to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary iOx Therapeutics. The small-cap company’s stock was up by over 185 per cent during pre-market hours.
The private Connecticut-based biotech operator Immunova, LLC has been given the option to acquire iOx through the agreement. iOx specializes in liposomal invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cell agonists. They are essentially designed to reprogram the immune system to fight off cancer more efficiently, in a nutshell.
Portage says the lead drug candidate that Immunova will be able to obtain through the deal, “PORT-2,” has demonstrated favourable efficacy in preliminary clinical analyses.
“We are delighted to continue our collaboration with Portage and potentially add the iOx assets to our own pipeline,” Immunova chief executive, Brian Horsburgh, said, “creating a clinical-stage biotech company focused on lipid drugs and delivery systems that empower immune cells to better fight disease.”
Portage and Immunova had been collaborators before the LOI signing. Immunova is a joint venture partner of Portage’s other subsidiary — Saugatuck Therapeutics.
Portage had a measly cash balance of US$1.8 million at the end of Q3 this year and hopes to improve its balance sheet with the sale. The value of the intended deal with Immunova was not specified.
For the fiscal year ended Mar. 31, Portage reported a substantial net loss of US$75.4 million. The company has been pursuing different avenues to stay afloat as its R&D expenses have been outpacing revenue significantly.
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Portage was instrumental in creating Biohaven Pharma
The company’s crucial role in the creation and development of Biohaven Pharmaceuticals is one of its most notable accomplishments.
Biohaven completed one of the largest initial public offerings in the biotech sector in 2017, raising over US$176 million. It was then acquired by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) in 2022 for a hefty sum of US$12 billion after continuous growth post-IPO.
Through the deal, Pfizer obtained the Nurtec ODT (rimegepant) migraine treatment drug and the “Zavegepant” intranasal therapeutic, also used to alleviate migraines.
These extreme headaches impact over 1 billion people throughout the globe.
rowan@mugglehead.com
