Vir Biotechnology (VIR) Earnings Call Transcript
The Motley Fool
by newsfeedback@fool.com (Motley Fool Transcribing)February 24, 2026
AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary
Vir Biotechnology (VIR) recently revealed a major collaboration with Astellas Pharma Inc., valued at $1.7 billion in combined upfront, equity, and milestone payments. This partnership focuses on developing and commercializing VR-5,500, an investigational dual-masking ProX10 antibody complex targeting prostate cancer. The deal structure includes a $315 million upfront payment ($240 million cash and $75 million equity at a 50% premium), a $20 million milestone payment, and future development, regulatory, and ex-US commercial milestone payments totaling up to $1.37 billion. In the US market, profits will be split equally between Vir Biotechnology and Astellas, while outside the US, Astellas holds exclusive rights but is obligated to pay tiered double-digit royalties and sales milestones to Vir.
The Phase 1 trial for VR-5,500 demonstrated promising safety and efficacy results in a heavily pretreated patient population. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed across all cohorts, with Grade 3 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) incidence limited to low grades (Grade 1 or 2). The treatment-related adverse events rate was just 12%, mostly laboratory findings. Notably, at higher doses (3,000 micrograms per kilogram or higher), 82% of patients achieved PSA-50 and nearly one-third reached PSA-99. Five out of 11 RECIST-evaluable patients showed objective responses, with four confirmed. These results suggest strong antitumor activity, particularly in challenging metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) cases.
The collaboration underscores
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Originally published on The Motley Fool on 2/24/2026