S. San Francisco-based Theravance plans to separate its late-stage partnered respiratory assets from its biopharma operations, creating two independent and publicly traded companies.
The first company, Royalty Management Co., will manage development and commercial responsibilities under the LABA collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline and associated potential royalty revenues from RELVAR™ or BREO™ ELLIPTA™ (fluticasone furoate/vilanterol: FF/VI), ANORO™ ELLIPTA™ (umeclidinium bromide/vilanterol: UMEC/VI), and VI monotherapy, Theravance said.
The second, Theravance Biopharma, will focus on R&D and the commercialization of small molecule medicines, the company added.
In a statement issued this week, Theravance said its decision to break up into two will help investors “align their investment philosophies with the strategic opportunities and financial objectives of the two independent companies,” and help the company “facilitate return of capital to stockholders and further its strategy of advancing medicines that address unmet medical needs.”
In October, Merck & Co. licensed cardiovascular candidates from Theravance in a $5 million up-front deal.
