BOSTON – Pyxis Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYXS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced the sale of its royalty rights to Beovu® and another asset to Novartis AG (SIX:) for $8 million. This transaction is part of the company’s strategic financial initiatives to support its core antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) asset, PYX-201, without diluting shareholder value.
The royalties sold were part of Pyxis Oncology’s acquisition of Apexigen, Inc. in August 2023, which included royalty rights to products developed using Apexigen’s APXiMAB platform. Pyxis Oncology holds the rights to three additional antibodies in development, also discovered through the APXiMAB platform.
Pyxis Oncology President and CEO Lara S. Sullivan, MD, said the capital will help advance the development of PYX-201, which the company views as a promising therapeutic candidate. PYX-201 is designed to target EDB+FN within the tumor stroma and is currently being evaluated in Phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of several types of solid tumors.
The $8 million payment from Novartis will be recorded by Pyxis Oncology in the first quarter of 2024, and the company anticipates that it may earn future payments associated with the three retained antibody programs.
Pyxis Oncology is focused on creating therapies for difficult-to-treat cancers, including an ADC program and immuno-oncology (IO) strategies. The company’s candidates aim to address aggressive cancer proliferation and immune evasion.
This news is based on a press release from Pyxis Oncology.
Insights on InvestingPro
As Pyxis Oncology, Inc. (PYXS) navigates the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical landscape, a look at the company’s financial health and market performance offers valuable context to stakeholders. With a market capitalization of $222.65 million, the company’s financial initiatives, such as the recent sale of royalty rights, are crucial to strengthening its pipeline without impacting its shareholder capital.
InvestingPro data reveals a volatile path for PYXS, with a significant return of 120.11% over the past three months, indicating strong near-term performance. Nonetheless, the stock has seen a notable decline with a return of -29.47% over the past week and a return of -39.87% over the past month, hinting at the market’s recent challenges.
Despite this, a tip from InvestingPro highlights that PYXS holds more cash than debt on its balance sheet, which is a positive sign for investors looking at the company’s ability to fund operations and weather financial storms. However, it’s important to note that analysts don’t expect the company to be profitable this year, and the stock has been flagged for its weak gross profit margins and high rate of cash burn.
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