United Therapeutics Corporation ( (NASDAQ:UTHR) entered into an exclusive license agreement with a private biopharmaceutical company, Corsair Pharma, Inc. Per the agreement, United Therapeutics will have an exclusive license to Corsair's intellectual property for the development of treprostinil prodrug formulation and the former will also make an equity investment in Corsair.
In 2017, shares of United Therapeutics increased 1.4% compared with the industry’s gain of 8.6%.
Corsair will develop transdermal treprostinil prodrug formulations for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company received upfront payment and will also get royalty payments based on the commercialization of treprostinil prodrug products by United Therapeutics that are covered by Corsair's patents.
Further, United Therapeutics made a minority equity investment in Corsair and the former has the option to acquire the remaining outstanding shares of Corsair. Per the deal, both the companies will support each other's development activities. The companies will also focus on the development of novel compounds that will allow more PAH patients to benefit from treprostinil.
The latest deal will also support United Therapeutics' RemoPro product, which is designed to bring subcutaneous treprostinil therapy to PAH patients. Additionally, Corsair's transdermal treprostinil patch provides another potential delivery method for the PAH patients who have immense difficulty working with continuous infusion pumps 24-hours a day, 7 days per week.
United Therapeutics Corporation Price
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
United Therapeutics carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked health care stocks are Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) , XOMA Corporation (NASDAQ:XOMA) and Sucampo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SCMP) . While Exelixis and XOMA sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Sucampo carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Exelixis’earnings per share estimates have moved up from 46 cents to 49 cents for 2017 and from 70 cents to 73 cents for 2018 in the last 60 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in all the last four quarters, with an average beat of 572.92%. Share price of the company has surged 107.5% in 2017.
XOMA’sloss per share estimates have narrowed from $3.05 to 9 cents for 2017 and from $1.23 to 42 cents for 2018 in the last 60 days. The company pulled off a positive earnings surprise in one of the last four quarters, with an average beat of 47.92%. Share price of the company has surged 643.8% in 2017.
Sucampo’s earnings per share estimates have moved up from 3 cents to $1.12 for 2017 and from $1.15 to $1.19 for 2018 in the last 60 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in three of the last four quarters, with an average beat of 15.63%. Share price of the company has surged 28.6% in 2017.
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XOMA Corporation (XOMA): Free Stock Analysis Report
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