Arvinas, Pfizer to grant commercial rights of experimental breast cancer drug to third party

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(Reuters) -Drug developer Arvinas said on Wednesday it will grant commercialization rights of an experimental breast cancer treatment it was developing with Pfizer to a third party.

Shares of Arvinas were down 3.4% in extended trading.

The drug vepdegestrant is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a type of breast cancer, and the regulator will give its potential approval decision in June.

Arvinas said it will limit additional expenditures on vepdegestrant to support activities required for making the drug ready for commercialization.

“The companies are aligned in their belief that finding a third-party commercial partner is the best path forward … and ensure vepdegestrant is available promptly if approved for use by regulatory authorities,” said Arvinas.

It will also reduce its workforce by an additional 15%, “with the most significant reductions being roles related to vepdegestrant commercialization”. Arvinas had previously announced a 33% workforce reduction in May.

The company had 430 full-time employees as of December 31, 2024, according to its latest annual filing.

Arvinas said the out-licensing of vepdegestrant and the resulting cost-cutting actions are expected to result in overall annual cost savings of more than $100 million compared with 2024, when combined with the $80 million it announced in May.

The drug developer said the cost cuts along with a new stock buyback program of up to $100 million were “actions to support shareholder value creation”.

In May, trial results showed vepdegestrant delayed progression of breast cancer by more than three months compared to AstraZeneca’s Faslodex in patients with a specific gene mutation.

(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)