In view of the the press release on 15 December regarding the Vps34 programme, Redeye's analysts ask Sprint Biosciences' CEO, Johan Emilsson, some questions. The interview is also available at Redeye.

Why is Deciphera leaving back the programme?
Under the agreement, they have the right to withdraw the programme without specifying any reason and they have chosen not to go public with the reason.

Will this have any financial impact?
No, not in terms of the day-to-day running of the company and the planned operations for 2024. In the longer term, of course, we miss the chance of milestones and royalties, but right now there is no financial impact. 

When can you have the programme on your premises and start promoting it?
It is too early to say how fast the readmission process will be. I will have to ask to come back to you on that. We are keen to get the programme back as soon as possible because we see that there is a lot of interest in the market for VPS34 inhibitors. Together with our other programmes; DISA, NIMA, NASH, where the withdrawal is now completed, and eventually PETRA01, we see that we have a very strong offering.

How do you see the way forward?
Our strategy is to become a sustainable profitable growth company that prolongs and improves the lives of cancer patients. That strategy remains firmly in place and what has happened does not change how we see the future. We are gearing up for business development and to complete key activities on our most mature programmes so that they are well prepared for all upcoming partnering events. We have a very active spring ahead of us and are well funded to carry out all the required activities for at least the next two years. 

How far had Deciphera got with the programme?
We know that they have put a lot of resources into developing the programme in the two years or so that they have had it. Exactly where the programme stands today is too early to say, but we have seen some great data coming out of the programme, including in a poster presentation at the leading cancer conference Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics earlier this autumn" VPS34 inhibition prolongs STING activation and improves STING agonist efficacy in a murine preclinical model".

Why don't you know more about the progress of a licensed programme?
When we out-licence, our partner takes over full responsibility and we are regularly updated on the progress of the project. However, this information is confidential and we cannot share it without the authorisation of our partners. We believe that close contact between the partners is beneficial to the programme, especially in the pre-clinical phase, and we will argue for this in future agreements as well.

What does this say about the quality of your programmes?
We know that our programmes are of high quality, which is reflected not least in the interest we see from the market and through the scientific contexts in which our programmes have been included. However, the reason why Deciphera has chosen to return the programme has not been communicated. We look forward to getting it back.