Ipsen pancreatic cancer readout sets up reward for Merrimack shareholders’ patience

More than three years after Merrimack terminated all of its staff and R&D programs, a readout from partner Ipsen in first-line pancreatic cancer has tripled the company’s stock price and set up the still-public company for a $225 million payout.

Ipsen Group (Euronext:IPN; Pink:IPSEY) said Wednesday that a regimen including Onivyde irinotecan significantly improved overall survival compared with nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine, meeting the primary endpoint in the Phase III NAPOLI 3 trial to treat metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. The Onivyde-chemotherapy combo also met a secondary endpoint evaluating progression-free survival...