Miragen Therapeutics Inc [MGEN] Set for Exponential Growth after Viridian Deal

Miragen Therapeutics Inc [NASDAQ:MGEN] was a top performer yesterday and closed the day with gains of over 142%. While it has eased up pre-market due to profit taking, the stock’s overall momentum remains upside.

This follows the company’s announcement that it had bought Viridian Therapeutics Inc. Viridian Therapeutics is a private biotech firm that develops new treatments for diseases that are underserved by existing therapies. 

Alongside the acquisition of Viridian, the company also announced that it had entered into an agreement through which, it will sell convertible preferred stock in  private placement deal with institutional investors that will include Fairmount Funds Management LLC, alongside other unnamed institutional investors.

Through this deal, the company expects to make a gross of $91 million. The company also announced that it intends to use this money to drive forward its clinical studies on VRDN-001. This is a clinical stage growth factor-1 monoclonal antibody that the company is developing for treating thyroid eye disease (TED). TED is a condition that leads to bulging eyes, double vision and even blindness.

Commenting on the acquisition of Viridian, board chairman Jeffrey S. Hatfield stated that after a detailed analysis of various strategic goals, the company believes that the purchase presents the best potential to create value for shareholders. He added that the board was looking forward to having VRDN-001 become a top treatment for people suffering from TED. 

The company intends to study VRDN-001 as a potential TED treatment. In studies, over 100 oncology patients have already been treated in the EU and the U.S and has been in testing as AVE-1642.

These studies have helped the company better understand the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetic aspects of tolerability and safety of this treatment. The company is currently waiting for feedback from regulators to kick start phase 2 clinical trials for VRDN-001 on this TED treatment next year. 

The company also announced that the global rights to develop and sell VRDN-001 for non-oncological indications are exclusively licensed from ImmunoGen Inc to Viridian. Under the deal, ImmunoGen will get an upfront payment, and will be up for more development milestones and royalty payments.

Viridian has also started VRDN-002 which intends to improve IGF-1R antibodies by including half-life extension technology to cut on the dosage required for full functionality in people suffering from TED. The company intends to file a VRDN-002 IND in 2021. 

 About Miragen Therapeutics Inc 

Miragen Therapeutics Inc is a biopharma company that develops treatments for unmet medical conditions. It is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.