Fortress Biotech: A Unique Company Aiming To Make A Big Impact In Medicine
Note: This is a review of Fortress Biotech as a company. Do your own research before making any investment decisions.
The biopharmaceutical industry is at the forefront of developing the healthcare solutions of tomorrow.
One interesting company, Fortress Biotech (FBIO), has taken a unique and different approach to drug discovery and drug development. Fortress Biotech’s business model enables them to develop and commercialize a diversified pipeline of therapeutics, aimed at minimizing risk and creating multiple sources of value. Fortress Biotech builds subsidiaries – which they set to price at a discount to peer companies at launch.
Fortress Biotech provides funding, management services, guidance for clinical and manufacturing support to each Fortress Company, which helps to maintain consistency and quality of operations. Also, because costs for legal, accounting, business development, and human resources are spread over multiple Fortress Companies, our model is very cost-efficient and can create internal development synergies that may expedite combination trials and, ultimately, regulatory approval. Under the Fortress Umbrella, they have amassed a diversified portfolio of ten different companies. Five of them are publicly listed, with the others being a private portfolio.
Leading the Way to Success?
Before you think about Fortress Biotech in the context of the entire industry, we spoke to Lindsey A. Rosenwald. Rosenwald, an American doctor, investor, and successful entrepreneur in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Rosenwald says that the company has released a number of successful products. One such product is Luxamend. This is a water-based emulsion that dresses and promotes the healing process of minor wounds, such as sunburns, minor cuts, and other scrapes.
He says that the company’s strong track record of creating products that meet market demands is a reason why Fortress Biotech could stand to challenge some of the bigger pharmaceutical companies in the coming years.
How does the company decide when to start a new subsidiary?
When Fortress secures an asset, it first looks to see if it adds value to an existing subsidiary.
A good example of this is Mustang Bio’s recent agreement with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for a clinical-stage gene therapy treatment for X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (“X-SCID”), also known as bubble boy disease.
Mustang was a natural fit for this asset due to the company’s extensive expertise in viral vector design, manufacturing and transduction.
Fotress will typically look to form a new subsidiary around science on which our subsidiary companies aren’t yet working. For example, it formed Checkpoint Therapeutics in 2015 around the in-licensing of immune-oncology targeted antibodies from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
What are the near-term value drivers in front of the company?
Investors and patients are awaiting the first clinical data from Checkpoint Therapeutics’ anti-PD-L1 antibody CK-301 for the treatment of lung cancer and other solid tumors.
They have got an opportunity to get to market with a compound that has similar safety and efficacy as the best-in-class and currently approved PD-L1s, but at a much lower price point.
Checkpoint will also be sharing the first clinical data on its third-generation EGFR TKI inhibitor CK-101 in non-small cell lung cancer, which has the potential to be second to market with a differentiated safety profile.
In addition, Mustang Bio has a number of CAR T clinical milestones in the months ahead. And, given Fortress Biotech’s focus on business development, one can expect to hear more from them as they add to their pipeline.
Note: This article originally appeared at MoneyMiniBlog.
Category: Biotech Stocks
