Sarepta Snags $1 Billion Deal With Roche For Gene Therapy

Josh Nathan-Kazis ROG.EB SRPT Sarepta Therapeutics Sarepta Therapeutics Spark Therapeutics Roche iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF Food and Drug Administration RBC Capital Markets Biotechnology Pharmaceuticals Health Care/Life Sciences Biopharmaceuticals Biological Therapy Doug Ingram Ritu Baral Alethia Young Brian Abrahams Cowen Duchenne Joseph P. Schwartz Ownership Changes Acquisitions/Mergers/Shareholdings Acquisitions/Mergers Corporate Actions Corporate/Industrial News Political/General News Health Genetic Disorders Medical Conditions Medical Treatments/Procedures Content Types Factiva Filters C&E Industry News Filter G/FDA I/BTC I/DRG IBB M/HCR N/CAC N/CNW N/DJN N/GEN N/HLT N/TNM N/WER RHHBY RO.EB ROG.EB SRPT IBB iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF Barrons.com Barrons Blogs Wires CODES_REVIEWED author Josh Nathan-Kazis author|Josh Nathan-Kazis topicid 8583 name Josh Nathan-Kazis extractedtext Josh Nathan-Kazis rank 1 codetype author code josh_nathan_kazis nameformat surname_first author Josh Nathan-Kazis id Josh Nathan-Kazis co antvrl co|antvrl country US symbol SRPT displayname Sarepta Therapeutics why about extractedtext Sarepta Therapeutics source FACTIVA occurs true seoname sarepta_therapeutics orgtype public countrycode US relevancerange medium chartingsymbol STOCK/US/XNAS/SRPT fcode antvrl fullextractedtext Sarepta Therapeutics ticker SRPT confidence 100 subcat com relevance 50 significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name Sarepta Therapeutics confidencerange high exchange Nasdaq exchangeisocode XNAS codetype co code antvrl co hofman co|hofman significance prominent orgtype public onlinesignificance prominent why about source FACTIVA subcat com fcode hofman codetype co code hofman co cdicbh co|cdicbh fullextractedtext Spark Therapeutics displayname Spark Therapeutics confidence 100 why occur extractedtext Spark Therapeutics source FACTIVA subcat com relevance 16 significance passing onlinesignificance passing-mention name Spark Therapeutics confidencerange high relevancerange low fcode cdicbh codetype co code cdicbh co ndqbtc co|ndqbtc fullextractedtext iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF country US symbol IBB ticker IBB confidence 100 why occur extractedtext iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF source FACTIVA subcat com relevance 16 seoname ishares_nasdaq_biotechnology_etf significance passing onlinesignificance passing-mention name iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF confidencerange high relevancerange low exchangeisocode XNAS chartingsymbol FUND/US/XNAS/IBB fcode ndqbtc codetype co code ndqbtc co usfda co|usfda fullextractedtext Food and Drug Administration confidence 92 why occur extractedtext Food and Drug Administration source FACTIVA subcat org relevance 26 significance passing onlinesignificance passing-mention name Food and Drug Administration confidencerange high relevancerange low fcode usfda codetype co code usfda co wesah co|wesah fullextractedtext RBC Capital Markets ticker RY displayname RBC Capital Markets confidence 100 extractedtext RBC Capital Markets source FACTIVA subcat com relevance 1 name RBC Capital Markets confidencerange high relevancerange verylow fcode wesah codetype co code wesah co HOFMAN co|HOFMAN symbol ROG.EB country CH codetype co displayname Roche Holding extractedtext Roche source MANUAL code ch_rog name Roche significance prominent onlinesignificance passing-mention exchange Switzerland: SWX exchangeisocode XSWX chartingsymbol STOCK/CH/XSWX/ROG fcode HOFMAN status modified co ANTVRL co|ANTVRL symbol SRPT country US codetype co displayname Sarepta Therapeutics extractedtext Sarepta Therapeutics source MANUAL code srpt name Sarepta Therapeutics significance prominent onlinesignificance passing-mention exchange U.S.: Nasdaq exchangeisocode XNAS chartingsymbol STOCK/US/XNAS/SRPT fcode ANTVRL status modified company ROG.EB company|ROG.EB name Roche significance PASSING-MENTION company SRPT company|SRPT name Sarepta Therapeutics significance PASSING-MENTION djn SRPT djn|SRPT significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name SRPT why about source FACTIVA occurs true fcode SRPT codetype djn code srpt djn IBB djn|IBB significance passing onlinesignificance passing-mention name IBB why occur source FACTIVA fcode IBB codetype djn code ibb djn G/FDA djn|G/FDA significance passing onlinesignificance passing-mention name G/FDA why occur source FACTIVA fcode G/FDA codetype djn code g_fda djn RHHBY djn|RHHBY significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name RHHBY why about source FACTIVA fcode RHHBY codetype djn code rhhby djn RO.EB djn|RO.EB significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name RO.EB why about source FACTIVA fcode RO.EB codetype djn code ro_eb djn ROG.EB djn|ROG.EB significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name ROG.EB why about source FACTIVA fcode ROG.EB codetype djn code rog_eb djn I/BTC djn|I/BTC significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name I/BTC why about source FACTIVA fcode I/BTC codetype djn code i_btc djn I/DRG djn|I/DRG significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name I/DRG why about source FACTIVA fcode I/DRG codetype djn code i_drg djn M/HCR djn|M/HCR name M/HCR why lineage source FACTIVA fcode M/HCR codetype djn code m_hcr djn N/CAC djn|N/CAC significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name N/CAC why about source FACTIVA fcode N/CAC codetype djn code n_cac djn N/CNW djn|N/CNW significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name N/CNW why about source FACTIVA fcode N/CNW codetype djn code n_cnw djn N/GEN djn|N/GEN name N/GEN why lineage source FACTIVA fcode N/GEN codetype djn code n_gen djn N/HLT djn|N/HLT name N/HLT why lineage source FACTIVA fcode N/HLT codetype djn code n_hlt djn N/TNM djn|N/TNM codetype djn value N/TNM source DJN-CONTROL status modified inactivebydefault true name N/TNM code n_tnm djn N/DJN djn|N/DJN codetype djn value N/DJN source DJN-CONTROL status modified inactivebydefault true name N/DJN code n_djn djn N/WER djn|N/WER codetype djn value N/WER source DJN-CONTROL status modified inactivebydefault true name N/WER code n_wer exchangetradedfund NDQBTC exchangetradedfund|NDQBTC symbol IBB country US codetype exchangetradedfund displayname iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF extractedtext iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF source MANUAL code ibb name iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF significance passing onlinesignificance passing-mention exchange U.S.: Nasdaq exchangeisocode XNAS chartingsymbol FUND/US/XNAS/IBB fcode NDQBTC status modified first_publish_headline Sarepta Snags $1 Billion Deal With Roche For Gene Therapy first_publish_headline|Sarepta Snags $1 Billion Deal With Roche For Gene Therapy flow NWREGULAR flow|NWREGULAR codetype FLOW value NWREGULAR source MANUAL status modified name Wires code NWREGULAR flow Barrons.com flow|Barrons.com codetype FLOW value Barrons.com source MANUAL status modified name Barrons.com code online name Online title Product code Barrons.com flow Barrons Blogs flow|Barrons Blogs codetype FLOW value Barrons Blogs title Product source MANUAL status modified name Barrons Blogs code Barrons_Blogs headline Sarepta Snags $1 Billion Deal With Roche For Gene Therapy headline|Sarepta Snags $1 Billion Deal With Roche For Gene Therapy in i2569 in|i2569 significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name Biotechnology why about source FACTIVA fcode i2569 codetype in code i2569 in ibiother in|ibiother significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name Biological Therapy why about source FACTIVA fcode ibiother codetype in code ibiother in i257 in|i257 significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name Pharmaceuticals why about source FACTIVA fcode i257 codetype in code i257 in i951 in|i951 name Health Care/Life Sciences why lineage source FACTIVA fcode i951 codetype in code i951 in ibioph in|ibioph name Biopharmaceuticals why association source FACTIVA fcode ibioph codetype in code ibioph media media-2 media|media-2 responsive layout wrap softcrop Horizontal imphotoid im-113923 location https://images.barrons.com/im-113923/?size=1.5 media media-1 media|media-1 softcrop Horizontal imphotoid im-113923 location https://images.barrons.com/im-113923/?size=1.5 ns cacqu ns|cacqu significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name Acquisitions/Mergers why about source FACTIVA fcode cacqu codetype ns code cacqu ns c181 ns|c181 significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name Acquisitions/Mergers/Shareholdings why about source FACTIVA fcode c181 codetype ns code c181 ns cactio ns|cactio significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name Corporate Actions why about source FACTIVA fcode cactio codetype ns code cactio ns c18 ns|c18 significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name Ownership Changes why about source FACTIVA fcode c18 codetype ns code c18 ns ccat ns|ccat significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name Corporate/Industrial News why about source FACTIVA fcode ccat codetype ns code ccat ns ghemo ns|ghemo significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name Genetic Disorders why about source FACTIVA fcode ghemo codetype ns code ghemo ns gtrea ns|gtrea significance prominent onlinesignificance prominent name Medical Treatments/Procedures why about source FACTIVA fcode gtrea codetype ns code gtrea ns gcat ns|gcat name Political/General News why lineage source FACTIVA fcode gcat codetype ns code gcat ns ghea ns|ghea name Health why lineage source FACTIVA fcode ghea codetype ns code ghea ns gmed ns|gmed name Medical Conditions why lineage source FACTIVA fcode gmed codetype ns code gmed ns ncat ns|ncat name Content Types why lineage source FACTIVA internalsymbol true fcode ncat codetype ns code ncat ns nfact ns|nfact name Factiva Filters why lineage source FACTIVA internalsymbol true fcode nfact codetype ns code nfact ns nfcpin ns|nfcpin name C&E Industry News Filter why lineage source FACTIVA internalsymbol true fcode nfcpin codetype ns code nfcpin nwchain SB525515968684084742881045860960737867343681 nwchain|SB525515968684084742881045860960737867343681 pe 11494 pe|11494 lastname Ingram displayname Ingram, Doug confidence 100 why occur extractedtext Doug Ingram source FACTIVA relevance 43 significance passing firstname Doug onlinesignificance passing-mention name Doug Ingram confidencerange high relevancerange low fcode 11494 codetype pe code 11494 nameformat surname_first pe 128785963 pe|128785963 lastname Baral displayname Baral, Ritu confidence 93 why occur extractedtext Ritu Baral source FACTIVA relevance 25 significance passing firstname Ritu onlinesignificance passing-mention name Ritu Baral confidencerange high relevancerange low fcode 128785963 codetype pe code 128785963 nameformat surname_first pe Alethia Young pe|Alethia Young firstname Alethia lastname Young displayname Young, Alethia name Alethia Young extractedtext Alethia Young source FACTIVA codetype pe code alethia_young nameformat surname_first pe Brian Abrahams pe|Brian Abrahams firstname Brian lastname Abrahams displayname Abrahams, Brian name Brian Abrahams extractedtext Brian Abrahams source FACTIVA codetype pe code brian_abrahams nameformat surname_first pe Cowen pe|Cowen lastname Cowen displayname Cowen name Cowen extractedtext Cowen source FACTIVA codetype pe code cowen nameformat surname_first pe Duchenne pe|Duchenne lastname Duchenne displayname Duchenne name Duchenne extractedtext Duchenne source FACTIVA codetype pe code duchenne nameformat surname_first pe Joseph P. Schwartz pe|Joseph P. Schwartz firstname Joseph lastname Schwartz displayname Schwartz, Joseph name Joseph P. Schwartz extractedtext Joseph P. Schwartz source FACTIVA codetype pe code joseph_p_schwartz nameformat surname_first relay SYND relay|SYND name Syndication source EXPANDER value SYND codetype RELAY code synd status modified statistic CODES_REVIEWED statistic|CODES_REVIEWED name CODES_REVIEWED value CODES_REVIEWED codetype STATISTIC code CODES_REVIEWED wordcount 768 wordcount|768 id facebook id|facebook news_tab_url https://www.barrons.com/articles/sarepta-snags-1b-deal-with-roche-for-gene-therapy-51577108907 https://investorrelations.sarepta.com/static-files/91d57bc0-343e-4da7-a67e-bdea21f7fb94 https://investorrelations.sarepta.com/static-files/91d57bc0-343e-4da7-a67e-bdea21f7fb94 Louis Reed Sarepta Snags $1 Billion Deal With Roche For Gene Therapy Sarepta Snags $1 Billion Deal With Roche For Gene Therapy Sarepta Snags $1B Deal With Roche For Gene Therapy

On Monday morning, Sarepta Therapeutics announced that Roche would pay $1.2 billion up front for the rights to sell Sarepta’s experimental gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy outside of the United States.

Sarepta Snags $1 Billion Deal With Roche For Gene Therapy

On Monday morning, Sarepta Therapeutics announced that Roche would pay $1.2 billion up front for the rights to sell Sarepta’s experimental gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy outside of the United States.

https://investorrelations.sarepta.com/static-files/91d57bc0-343e-4da7-a67e-bdea21f7fb94 https://www.barrons.com/articles/sarepta-stock-fda-approves-duchennes-drug-vyondys-53-51576245529 mailto:josh.nathan-kazis@barrons.com Sarepta Snags $1 Billion Deal With Roche For Gene Therapy By Josh Nathan-Kazis Louis Reed

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche just crowned a gene therapy winner.

On Monday morning, the biotech firm Sarepta Therapeutics (ticker: SRPT) announced that Roche (RHHBY) would pay $1.2 billion up front for the rights to sell Sarepta’s experimental gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy outside of the United States.

“We view this as a big win for the company,” wrote Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Alethia Young in a note Monday. “We think validation from a company like Roche performing extensive diligence and choosing to partner should significantly increase investor confidence in [Sarepta’s] entire gene therapy program.”

The deal comes after a rocky few months for Sarepta, in which the company saw its shares fall after the Food and Drug Administration rejected an application to approve another of its Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatments, Vyondys 53, before reversing course in mid-December and approving the drug.

The Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy, called SRP-9001, is currently in clinical development, and has not yet been approved. Sarepta is one of a number of companies looking to develop a gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and early data has suggested that it has the best shot of reaching the market first.

Shares of Sarepta were up about 8% in pre-market trading. Analysts said the deal was one of the biggest ever for rights to distribute a drug outside of the U.S., and would significantly impact their estimates for Sarepta looking forward. Cowen analyst Ritu Baral wrote that she had previously not included any revenue projections at all for the Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy sales outside of the U.S. in her price target.

“We think the Roche partnership will allow SRPT to realize more value (and faster) for the ‘9001 program than if SRPT commercialized the program themselves,” she wrote.

For Roche, meanwhile, this deal is yet another major investment in gene therapy: Last week, the company completed its acquisition last week of the gene therapy biotech Spark Therapeutics.

The back story. Shares of Sarepta are up 15.6% so far this year. The stock dipped over the summer, after the FDA denied approval for Vyondys 53, but has rebounded in December after the agency changed its mind. Still, the stock lags behind its biotech peers. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF is up 26.6% so far this year.

What’s new. Analysts said that the new deal amounted to an important vote of confidence by Roche, which had likely seen proprietary data on Sarepta’s gene therapy program. And they said that it would allow Sarepta, which has no infrastructure outside of the U.S., to reach markets it wouldn’t have otherwise been able to access.

“One of the largest single-asset, ex-U.S. deals to date, this licensing agreement instills added confidence in SRPT’s gene therapy programs and removes any remaining financial overhang for SRPT, in our view,” wrote SVB Leerink analyst Joseph P. Schwartz.

Under the terms of the deal, Sarepta gets $750 million in cash and $400 million in Sarepta stock up front, and is eligible to receive another $1.7 billion if it hits certain milestones. It will also receive net sales royalties. Sarepta retains rights to sell SRPT-9001 inside of the U.S.

“This collaboration will not only increase the speed with which SRP-9001 could benefit DMD patients outside the United States, but will also greatly expand the scope of territories within which we could potentially launch SRP-9001 and improve and save lives,” said Sarepta’s president and CEO, Doug Ingram, in a statement.

Looking forward. Sarepta is hosting a conference call to discuss the deal at 8:30 a.m. Eastern on Monday.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams wrote that an acquisition of Sarepta remained possible, despite the deal. “While some may be disappointed that SRPT did not get acquired outright...we do not believe there is a standstill precluding Roche from acquiring SRPT, and note examples in the past of companies partnering their products ex-U.S. but still getting acquired later on,” he wrote.

Write to Josh Nathan-Kazis at josh.nathan-kazis@barrons.com

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.