Dive Brief:
- Swedish Medivir, hot on the heels of a decision to split into two by the end of the year, has announced a switch of focus to cancer, building on its protease inhibition and nucleotide-/nucleoside science knowhow.
- The company will start discussions to divest its preclinical and clinical infectious disease assets by the end of the year, and its clinical stage osteoarthritis drug MIV-711 once Phase 2a trials are completed.
- The move, which is part of the ongoing reorganization, will cut about 30 jobs in R&D and administration and save the company around SEK110 million ($12.5 million).
Dive Insight:
Back in August, Medivir announced a reorganization, splitting into two separate companies. One half, a dedicated research and development company, would focus on the R&D pipeline. The other, a commercial company, would focus on the company's pharmaceutical portfolio of 15 drugs available in the Nordic market.
"I believe this reduced cost in early research, and a streamlined therapeutic area focus with a smaller and more cost effective organization, will strengthen Medivir's position as an efficient oncology company with a growing development pipeline and research platforms for sustainable growth." says Niklas Prager, CEO and President of Medivir.
"Medivir's ambition is to have a well-balanced and broad pipeline from early- to late-stages of development. We will continue to build on our technology platforms and proven track record of translating projects into value creating partnerships," he added.
Medivir is still a relative newcomer to oncology, only announcing its first oncology project based on its own platform in 2015. This project, a nucleotide DNA polymerase inhibitor for hepatocellular carcinoma, is still at discovery stage, is the only oncology project listed in the company's pipeline, though the website says the company will focus on cancers of high unmet medical need.