Cancer drugmaker Clovis files for bankruptcy, hit by falling sales (updated)

Clovis Oncology

12/12/2022 06:44

(Adds Clovis statement, details)
       Dec 12 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Clovis Oncology Inc
 CLVS.O  on Sunday filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware,
hit by a fall in sales of its cancer drug and challenges in
raising additional capital.
        Clovis has been struggling to sell its cancer drug
Rubraca, the company's only approved drug, as sales were hit in
recent years by intensifying competition from rival ovarian
cancer treatments, and partly due to declining diagnoses during
the pandemic lockdowns.
        The company has also lined up a debtor-in-possession
(DIP) financing facility of up to $75 million to provide it with
necessary liquidity, subject to court approval, Clovis said in a
press release on Monday.
    Colorado-based Clovis said it has entered into a stalking
horse agreement with Novartis Innovative Therapies AG to sell
the license rights to its pipeline clinical candidate FAP-2286 
for an upfront payment of $50 million and up to an additional
$333.75 million after achieving some development and regulatory
milestones. Clovis will also receive $297 million later, when it
hits certain sales milestones. 
    Clovis is also actively engaged in discussions with a number
of interested parties regarding a potential sale of one or more
of its other assets. 
    In a filing at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of
Delaware, Clovis estimated its assets to be in the range of $100
million to $500 million, with liabilities between $500 million
and $1 billion. 
 (Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by
Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
 ((Maria.Ponnezhath@thomsonreuters.com; +91 8061822749;))