Basilea toss­es an on­col­o­gy drug back to Mer­ck, dou­bling down on an­tibi­otics in re­vamp

Swiss biotech Basilea Phar­ma­ceu­ti­ca has shed one of its last pipeline ties with on­col­o­gy as it makes a move to con­cen­trate on an­tibi­otics in a race to prof­itabil­i­ty next year. And they’ve fol­lowed up on that with news of a Phase III suc­cess they be­lieve can help ex­pand prospects for a key fran­chise play­er.

The com­pa­ny put out word on Mon­day that the ex­ecs are hand­ing rights to the FGFR in­hibitor de­r­azan­ti­nib back to Mer­ck by the end of this year as it shuts down clin­i­cal work on the tu­mor check­point con­troller lisa­van­bu­lin. They’re still work­ing on part­ner­ing that out along with their TTK/PLK1-in­hibitor BAL0891 and pre­clin­i­cal on­col­o­gy as­sets.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER