Clovis's story ends at chapter 11

Thank you and goodnight Clovis, which has bowed to the inevitable and filed for Chapter 11 protection, ending the debt-driven death spiral the company had been in since 2014. Recent blows had included defaulting on a convertible senior note and a request by the FDA to limit the use of its only approved drug Rubraca to ovarian cancer patients with a BRCA mutation; the latter added to the woes of a product that had fallen way behind Astra/Merck’s Lynparza and Glaxo’s Zejula. These setbacks only intensified the group’s untenable debt position of $438m in convertible senior notes against a market cap of $29m. Arguably, one of the things Clovis did right in its 13 year history was to license radioligand FAP-2286 from 3B Pharmaceuticals. Interest in radiopharmaceuticals has been increasing, a fact recognised by Novartis, which paid $50m up front for the asset, with potential future payments of up to $631m. FAP-2286 will add to Novartis’s existing FAP assets, FAPI-46 and FAPI-74. However, the sale might not be a done deal. Clovis, which is also in discussions to sell Rubraca and other assets, stated that it would be soliciting competing bids for FAP-2286 as part of section 363 of the bankruptcy code.