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 2025DateNoteJul 2025Company resubmits US BLA for Ebvallo in pts aged ≥2 with 2nd-line+ EBV+ve post-transplant lymphoproliferative diseaseMay 2025Company prices $16m offeringMay 2025FDA lifts clinical hold on Ebvallo; ph3 Allele trial can restartMar 2025Company announces discontinuation of all Car-T operations in its Q4 2024 resultsMar 2025Company cuts headcount by a further 50%, to 35 employeesJan 2025Company cuts headcount by 50%Jan 2025FDA places clinical hold on Ebvallo, due to problems at third-party manufacturing siteJan 2025FDA issues CRL for Ebvallo, citing inspection findings at third-party manufacturerSource: OncologyPipeline & SEC filings.