Clovis Oncology Announces $225 Million Convertible Notes Offering to Advance Clinical Development of Targeted Oncology Therapies

On August 9, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned via Business Wire that biopharmaceutical company Clovis Oncology (Clovis) announced the issuance of $225 million in convertible notes.

Clovis plans to use the proceeds from this offering to expand its scale and advance the clinical development of its anticancer drugs, Lucitanib and Rucaparib. The company will also repurchase a portion of its 2.50% convertible notes due in 2021, which may impact the market price of Clovis’s common stock.

It is reported that Clovis completed a $145 million financing round in May 2009.

Clovis, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, USA, is a leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical company. The company is dedicated to developing targeted therapy technologies to provide patients with innovative anticancer drugs. Clovis boasts an experienced team of oncology experts and maintains offices across multiple regions in Europe and the United States. The company went public on the NASDAQ Stock Market in the United States in 2012, under the ticker symbol CLVS.

Clovis focuses on developing therapies for specific cancer types, providing patients with targeted tumor drugs. The company collaborates with multiple biotechnology and pharmaceutical enterprises to seek targeted treatment pathways for ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer, prostate cancer, and others.

Rucaparib is one of Clovis’s key investigational drugs, indicated for the treatment of recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer, and primary peritoneal cancer. This small-molecule poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) inhibitor received FDA approval in 2016. In addition to the aforementioned indications, Clovis’s team is also exploring the therapeutic potential of rucaparib in prostate cancer, breast cancer, gastroesophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and lung cancer.

According to statistics from the American Cancer Society (ACS), more than 22,400 women in the United States were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2017. This type of cancer typically lacks distinct initial symptoms; it is estimated that up to 80% of patients already have tumor spread and metastasis at the time of diagnosis.

In addition, Clovis is developing the oral anticancer drug Lucitanib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that provides targeted therapy by inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFR), platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGFR), and fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR).

Phase I and II clinical trials of lucitanib are currently recruiting volunteers for subsequent evaluation of the drug’s safety and efficacy. Meanwhile, Clovis is also investigating combination therapy with lucitanib and rucaparib, aiming to provide better treatment options for patients with advanced ovarian cancer.

Clovis management stated, “We remain committed to developing innovative cancer therapeutics and dedicated to improving treatment outcomes for cancer patients. Clovis has been actively seeking new avenues in targeted therapy to provide appropriate treatment options for patients with various types of cancer. Our mission is to leverage our excellence in drug development technologies to help a broad patient population overcome the burden of disease.”

(Compiled by Xu Xiaoxue)