"$70 million" windfall recovered from Biogen Idec dwarfs Vernalis' market cap
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
As Vernalis regained the rights to the A2A receptor antagonist programme for Parkinson's disease from Biogen Idec, the deal served to illustrate the gap between the spending on an asset and the value of that asset. Vernalis CEO Ian Garland told Scrip that he believes Biogen Idec has invested around $70 million in the programme over the last 4-5 years. However, the lead molecule from the programme, V81444, is only "Phase I-ready", having received MHRA approval for first dosing in man. At the same time, investors are currently valuing the whole of Vernalis, including V81444, at approximately £39 million.