Halozyme Licenses New Enhanze Target For $30 Million Upfront Payment, Future Milestones And Royalties

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 14, 2017  -- Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) announced today it licensed its ENHANZE® drug-delivery technology to Roche for exclusive development of an undisclosed therapeutic target.

 

Under terms of the agreement, Halozyme will receive an initial $30 million with the potential to earn additional payments of up to $160 million subject to achievement of specified development, regulatory and sales-based milestones. Halozyme will also receive tiered, mid-single digit royalties on sales of commercialized products.

"We are pleased to broaden our longstanding collaboration with Roche to include selection of a new target," said Dr. Helen Torley, president and CEO. "With each new licensing agreement, we see the potential for our global partners to advance their innovative therapies, reducing the treatment burden for patients, caregivers and payers through shorter administration times or a less frequent dosing regimen."

 

The Halozyme/Roche relationship dates back to the original global collaboration and licensing agreement for the ENHANZE technology signed in 2006. From this agreement, Roche developed two subcutaneous formulations of cancer drugs for markets worldwide. More recently, the relationship expanded to include the study of Halozyme's investigational oncology drug, PEGPH20, with atezolizumab as part of a clinical collaboration announced in 2016.

 

The Halozyme ENHANZE technology is based on a proprietary recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme (rHuPH20) that temporarily degrades hyaluronan -- a glycosaminoglycan or chain of natural sugars in the body -- to aid in the dispersion and absorption of other injected therapeutic drugs. For Halozyme partners, this technology may allow for more rapid delivery of injectable medications through subcutaneous delivery.

 

About ENHANZE® Technology

Halozyme's proprietary ENHANZE®drug-delivery technology is based on its patented recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme (rHuPH20). rHuPH20 has been shown to remove traditional limitations on the volume of biologics that can be delivered subcutaneously (just under the skin). By using rHuPH20, some biologics and compounds that are administered intravenously may instead be delivered subcutaneously. ENHANZE may also benefit subcutaneous biologics by reducing the need for multiple injections. This delivery has been shown in studies to reduce health care practitioner time required for administration and shorten time for drug administration.

 

About Halozyme

Halozyme Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing novel oncology therapies that target the tumor microenvironment. Halozyme's lead proprietary program, investigational drug PEGPH20, applies a unique approach to targeting solid tumors, allowing increased access of co-administered cancer drug therapies to the tumor in animal models. PEGPH20 is currently in development for metastatic pancreatic cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, gastric cancer, metastatic breast cancer and has potential across additional cancers in combination with different types of cancer therapies. In addition to its proprietary product portfolio, Halozyme has established value-driving partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies including Roche, Baxalta, Pfizer, Janssen, AbbVie and Lilly for its ENHANZE® drug delivery technology. Halozyme is headquartered in San Diego. For more information visit www.halozyme.com.

 

Safe Harbor Statement

In addition to historical information, the statements set forth above include forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements concerning the possible activity, benefits and attributes of ENHANZE, the possible method of action of ENHANZE, its potential application to aid in the dispersion and absorption of other injected therapeutic drugs, the number of collaborative targets actually chosen, whether such products are ultimately developed or commercialized, whether milestones triggering milestone payments will be achieved, and statements concerning facilitating more rapid delivery of injectable medications through subcutaneous delivery that involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are typically, but not always, identified through use of the words "believe," "enable," "may," "will," "could," "intends," "estimate," "anticipate," "plan," "predict," "probable," "potential," "possible," "should," "continue," and other words of similar meaning. Actual results could differ materially from the expectations contained in forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including unexpected expenditures and costs, unexpected results or delays in development and regulatory review, regulatory approval requirements, unexpected adverse events and competitive conditions. These and other factors that may result in differences are discussed in greater detail in Halozyme's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Halozyme undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements to reflect events after the date of this release.

 

Contacts:

Jim Mazzola

858-704-8122

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Chris Burton

858-704-8352

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