Eleven Biotherapeutics Soars on Investigational Milestone

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 5:57AM EST · Published Jul 8, 9:10AM EDT

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Eleven Biotherapeutics Soars on Investigational Milestone — © Thinkstock

Shares of Eleven Biotherapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIO) saw a handy gain early on Friday. The company announced that its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for EBI-031 has become effective. As a result of the achievement of this milestone, Eleven is entitled to receive a $22.5 million payment from Roche pursuant to the terms of its license agreement with Roche.

On June 13, the company announced that it had entered into an exclusive license agreement with Roche for the further development and commercialization of EBI-031 and all other IL-6 antagonist antibody technology owned by Eleven.

Under the terms of this agreement, Eleven could receive up to $262.5 million upon the achievement of certain regulatory, development and commercialization milestones, including this $22.5 million payment upon the effectiveness of the IND for EBI-031.

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Additionally, Eleven could be entitled to receive royalties for net sales of potential future products containing EBI-031 or any other potential future products containing other Eleven IL-6 compounds. Effectiveness of the license agreement, including Roche’s obligation to make the $22.5 million milestone payment, is subject to approval of the license by holders of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of Eleven’s common stock.

Abbie Celniker, Ph.D., president and CEO of Eleven Bio, commented:

We look forward to Roche advancing EBI-031 into the clinic to explore its potential use for ocular diseases, such as diabetic macular edema, in an effort to bring this potential treatment to patients.

Excluding this move, Eleven Bio has underperformed the broad markets with the stock down 35% year to date. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock is down about 37%.

Shares of Eleven Bio closed Thursday down 3.5% at $1.96, with a consensus analyst price target of $12.00 and a 52-week trading range of $0.25 to $8.00. Following the announcement, the company was up about 43% at $2.80.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.