Bristol Myers Squibb is continuing to expand its investment and presence in San Diego’s life science sector – most recently with a multi-billion-dollar buyout of Mirati Therapeutics.
The two companies announced the definitive merger agreement Oct. 8. Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) will acquire Mirati for $58 per share in cash, for a total equity value of $4.8 billion. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies.
EVP, Strategy & Business Development
Bristol Myers Squibb.
With the purchase of Mirati, BMS gains a portfolio of targeted oncology therapies that compliment its own amino therapies, said Elizabeth Mily, executive vice president of strategy and business development at Bristol Myers Squibb.
“BMS has three amino therapies on the market and there’s still a tremendous amount of unmet need, so when we look across what the unmet need is, a lot of it is best addressed in compliment with amino therapies with targeted therapies, especially in going after some of these very specific tumors,” she said.
Mirati’s KRAS inhibitor drug KRAZATI was granted FDA approval in December as a second line treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and BMS is hoping it will soon be approved for first line treatment of lung cancer in combination with TD1 inhibitors.
Important Pipeline
In addition to KRAZATI, Mirati also has a ““very significant pipeline that is important to us,” Mily said. “Thinking about our portfolio today and our aspiration to reach more and more patients, [the Mirati acquisition] is really a great fit.”
That pipeline includes MRTX1719 which targets tumors caused by deletion of the methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) gene, responsible for around 10% of all cancers, including bile duct caner and melanoma. Phase 2 trials of MRTX1719 are set to be initiated in 2024.
Mirati’s pipeline also includes MRTX1133, which targets a mutation implicated in pancreatic cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer, and MRTX0902 an SOS1 inhibitor in Phase 1 clinical development to be used in combined therapy to target a mutation found in 30% of pancreatic cancer patients.
Founder, President & CEO
Mirati Therapeutics, Inc.
“Through our discovery and development of next-generation targeted cancer therapeutics, we have built a robust pipeline of potentially best-in-class treatments that offer renewed hope for patients,” said Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. Founder, President and CEO Charles Baum, M.D., Ph.D.
Baum added that BMS’ global scale and resources “will enable Mirati’s therapeutics to benefit more patients, faster.”
“We believe that this transaction is the best way to benefit patients and maximize value for shareholders,” he said.
Shareholder value will be maximized further as Mirati’s pipeline progresses. Under the terms of the transaction, Mirati shareholders will receive one non-tradeable Contingent Value Right for each Mirati share held, potentially worth $12 per share, paid upon FDA approval of MRTX1719 for the treatment of either locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in patients who have received no more than two prior lines of systemic therapy within seven years after the closing of the merger. If the approval happens, BMS will pay an additional $1 billion.
Integration
The details on how the two companies will integrate are still being worked out. Over the next couple weeks, management teams of both Mirati and BMS will work together “to determine the best plan forward” to bring Mirati into BMS, Mily said.
“We want to make sure we’re capitalizing absolutely on the strengths and talents that they bring to our organization,” she added. “We’re very impressed with what they’ve accomplished and we’re looking forward to bringing the team on board. We’ve got great experience with integrating companies.”
It is also not yet decided where the Mirati team will be located. Currently, Mirati has its offices and labs on Cray Court in Torrey Pines. Mily said BMS could retain that facility or move Mirati’s operation to its future R&D facility within 427,000 square feet that the company has leased in the Alexandria Point building in University Town Center that is expected to be finished in 2026.
“We’re definitely investing in San Diego. I think that’s the most important takeaway,” Mily said. “It’s what you see with the new campus being built that we’re expecting to open up in 2026.”
The transaction for BMS’ investment in Mirati is anticipated to close by the first half of 2024.
Mirati Therapeutics
Founded: 2013
CEO: Charles Baum
Headquarters: San Diego
Business: Oncology therapies
Stock: (NASDAQ) MRTX
Revenue: $19.7 million (six months ending June 30, 2023)
Employees: 500
Website: www.mirati.com
Notable: Mirati loosely translated means “targeted” in Italian
Bristol Myers Squibb
Founded: 1827
CEO: Giovanni Caforio
Headquarters: New York City
Business: pharmaceutical company
Employees: 30,000
Stock: BMY (NYSE)
Revenue: $46.2 billion (FY2022)
Website: www.bms.com
Contact: 1-800-332-2056
Notable: Bristol Myers Squib is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.
