Enanta falls on revised AbbVie deal

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) fell $4.76 (10%) to $41.83 on Tuesday after the company said it decided not to exercise its option to co-develop HCV candidate ABT-493 with AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the U.S. Enanta and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) discovered the next-generation HCV NS3/4A protease inhibitor under a 2006 deal.

The option would have allowed Enanta to fund 40% of development and U.S. commercialization costs and receive 40% of the profits from regimens containing the HCV therapy. Enanta said it will instead fund development of its in-house HCV candidates and other infectious disease programs. The company recently regained rights to EDP-239, an HCV non-structural protein 5A (NS5A) inhibitor that is in Phase I testing, from Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN) as the Swiss pharma exits the HCV business (see BioCentury Extra, Oct. 1). ...