Orion, a Finnish pharmaceutical company, recently announced a new licensing agreement with US drugmaker MSD that has boosted its turnover and profit estimates for the current year. Under the agreement, MSD will be granted exclusive worldwide rights to a product developed by Orion called opevesostat. This oral inhibitor is being studied for hormone-dependent cancers and is expected to bring in significant revenue for both companies.
The licensing agreement has allowed Orion to free up 60 million euros from its balance sheet, which will contribute to its third-quarter turnover and operating profit. Orion will continue to be responsible for manufacturing and supplying the product to MSD for research and commercial use. The positive news about the licensing agreement has caused a clear rise in Orion’s share price on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.
Orion’s CEO, Liisa Hurme, expressed her optimism about the agreement, stating that it allows the company to focus on other development projects while still benefiting from the potential commercialization of opevesostat. With this new agreement in place, Orion expects its net sales for the year to be between 1,440-1,480 million euros and its operating profit to be 350-380 million euros. These estimates are an increase from previous estimates of 1,340-1,410 million euros and 280-310 million euros respectively.
