BioMarin and Ascendis settled a global patent dispute over the achondroplasia drug Yuviwel on Sunday.

  • BioMarin said Sunday that Ascendis will pay it 20% of Yuviwel sales in the United States, including payments that go back to the drug’s first sale.
  • Both sides will drop all related lawsuits, including cases in the United States, Europe, Brazil and South Korea.
  • Wall Street mostly treated the pact as good news for both stocks, with small target changes.

Shares of Ascendis Pharma (ASND) jumped as much as 8% on Monday, while BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN) traded as high as 2%, after the companies settled a global patent fight over Ascendis’s weekly achondroplasia drug Yuviwel.

At the time of writing, both stocks had pared some gains, and ASND traded up 6% while BMRN traded up 1%. ASND is on track to clock its best day since late June.

Settlement terms

BioMarin said Sunday that Ascendis will pay it 20% of Yuviwel sales in the United States, including payments that go back to the drug’s first sale. Ascendis will also pay 18% of sales in the European Union, Brazil and South Korea. Those royalties run through May 2030.

In return, BioMarin is licensing the patents that cover Yuviwel so Ascendis can keep selling it, including for other possible uses and in combination with other drugs. Both sides will drop all related lawsuits, including cases in the United States, Europe, Brazil and South Korea, ending the risk of a U.S. trade case disrupting Yuviwel supplies.

Yuviwel is a once-a-week shot for children with achondroplasia, a rare bone-growth condition. BioMarin’s Voxzogo is a daily shot for the same market.

How Analysts Read It

Wall Street mostly treated the pact as good news for both stocks, with small target changes.

On BioMarin, Jefferies and Raymond James raised their price targets slightly and kept positive ratings. Jefferies said the royalties add about $1 a share in value, support BioMarin’s patents, and let the company share in Yuviwel if it takes patients from Voxzogo. Raymond James called the 20% U.S. rate high and said it suggested BioMarin’s legal case was stronger than many investors thought. H.C. Wainwright lifted its target by $1 from $59 to $60 but stayed 'Neutral,' arguing the payments should slow Voxzogo’s decline without removing competition.

On Ascendis, H.C. Wainwright, Jefferies, BofA and Stifel trimmed targets by a few dollars and kept 'Buy' ratings. They said the royalties cut Yuviwel’s profits — H.C. Wainwright now subtracts $355 million through 2030 — but end a legal cloud and last only a few years. BofA called it a reasonable way to protect U.S. sales. Stifel said both sides got something and that its main thesis is still growth in Ascendis’s other drug, Yorvipath, a once-daily prescription drug used to treat chronic hypoparathyroidism in adults.

How Did ASND, BMRN Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around ASND and BMRN rose from 'bearish' to 'neutral' territory over the past 24 hours.

While BMRN stock has gained 10% year-to-date, ASND has added 24%. 

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