Atara turns $60m into $40m
Atara Biotherapeutics took a step closer to a vital milestone from its partner Pierre Fabre on Monday when it refiled its T-cell therapy Ebvallo with the FDA. However, the payment, due on Ebvallo’s approval, will now be $40m, versus $60m expected previously. Since an FDA complete response letter in January over third-party manufacturing issues, swiftly followed by a clinical hold, Atara has transferred manufacturing responsibility to Pierre Fabre, with the latter also agreeing to pay for remediation at the facility in question. This led to a reduction in milestones, according to Atara’s first-quarter SEC filing. The company will have to hope for no more delays: as of the end of June it had $22m, which it reckons will get it into the first quarter of 2026, helped by recent cost cutting. As well as the aforementioned $40m milestone, the company is also eligible for sales milestones and “significant double-digit tiered royalties” from Pierre Fabre. Should Ebvallo get the thumbs up second time around, banking these will be the only reason for Atara’s continued existence; the group discontinued its Car-T projects ATA3219 and ATA3431 in March. Now it just needs everything at the FDA to go smoothly.
An Atara timeline since January 2025
| Date | Note |
|---|---|
| Jul 2025 | Company resubmits US BLA for Ebvallo in pts aged ≥2 with 2nd-line+ EBV+ve post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease |
| May 2025 | Company prices $16m offering |
| May 2025 | FDA lifts clinical hold on Ebvallo; ph3 Allele trial can restart |
| Mar 2025 | Company announces discontinuation of all Car-T operations in its Q4 2024 results |
| Mar 2025 | Company cuts headcount by a further 50%, to 35 employees |
| Jan 2025 | Company cuts headcount by 50% |
| Jan 2025 | FDA places clinical hold on Ebvallo, due to problems at third-party manufacturing site |
| Jan 2025 | FDA issues CRL for Ebvallo, citing inspection findings at third-party manufacturer |
Source: OncologyPipeline & SEC filings.
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