Genmab CEO Worried By Takeover Risk

Danish-listed biotech Genmab is vulnerable to a takeover due to its current low share price, and the company needs more time to develop its full potential, its chief executive told a Dutch daily on Tuesday.

Genmab is partnering GlaxoSmithKline to develop its leukemia drug ofamamutab, sold as Arzerra, and is seeking a partner for further testing and development of its cancer drug zalutumumab to help get it onto the U.S. market.

"The present (share) price makes us vulnerable to a takeover. That worries me sometimes," Chief Executive Officer Jan van de Winkel told newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad.

Van de Winkel, a Dutch national, said the company's current market capitalisation, which was $579.7 million at the close of trading on Monday, only reflects the company's cash position and the lowest sales forecasts for Arzerra.

He expects Arzerra sales to develop more positively if more insurers start reimbursing patients in the U.S. and Europe. Van de Winkel added the share price does not take into account the company's pipeline or its technology platforms, which should give a market capitalisation "many times higher."

Van de Winkel said he wants more time to develop Genmab's potential by obtaining a development partner for zalutumumab, which he described as the company's "second-biggest medicine."

"We are in talks with several parties," Van de Winkel said, referring to the company's search for a partner.