So, you know how biotech stocks can sometimes just... go up? Vir Biotechnology Inc. (VIR) is having one of those days. Shares are rocketing higher in Tuesday's premarket session, hitting a fresh 52-week high. The reason? It's the classic biotech trifecta: a huge partnership deal, some encouraging early data, and earnings that weren't a disaster. Actually, they were pretty good.
The main event is a new strategic collaboration with Japanese pharmaceutical giant Astellas Pharma Inc. (ALPMF) (ALPMY). Announced on Monday, the partnership is all about advancing VIR-5500, Vir's investigational treatment for prostate cancer. For Vir, this is a major validation of its oncology pipeline and a serious cash infusion.
Here's the deal math: Vir gets $335 million right off the bat and in near-term milestone payments. That breaks down to $240 million in cash and a $75 million equity investment from Astellas—and get this—that equity investment comes at a 50% premium to Vir's stock price. On top of that, Vir is eligible for up to another $1.37 billion in future milestone payments if things go well. Astellas will lead the commercialization of VIR-5500 in the U.S., and the two companies will split the profits and losses there equally.
Speaking of things going well, Vir also shared new data on Monday from the ongoing Phase 1 trial of VIR-5500. The drug is being tested in patients with advanced metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who have already tried and failed multiple other therapies. In this tough-to-treat population, the early read is positive.
The data suggest VIR-5500 monotherapy is well-tolerated and shows promising anti-tumor activity. Looking at the highest dose groups (patients receiving ≥3,000 µg/kg every three weeks), the numbers are attention-grabbing: 82% of patients saw their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels drop by at least 50% (PSA50), and 53% saw a drop of at least 90% (PSA90). Among patients who could be evaluated by standard RECIST criteria, 45% had an objective response, meaning measurable tumor shrinkage. Reductions on specialized PSMA-PET scans confirmed these PSA declines and radiographic responses, with tumor shrinkage observed across multiple sites, including in visceral metastases.
So, what's next? Vir has finished the monotherapy dose-escalation part of the study in these late-line mCRPC patients. It's also running a parallel arm testing VIR-5500 in combination with another drug, enzalutamide, in patients with earlier-line mCRPC. The plan is to kick off larger monotherapy and combination dose-expansion cohorts in the second quarter of 2026, with pivotal Phase 3 trials targeted for 2027.
All this news comes alongside Vir's fourth-quarter earnings report, which was surprisingly solid. The company reported a loss of 31 cents per share, which was better than the 41-cent loss analysts were expecting. Even more impressive was the revenue figure: $64.07 million, which absolutely demolished the consensus estimate of $23.18 million.
Perhaps the most important number for a clinical-stage biotech, though, is its cash runway. Vir now says that based on its current plans—including all the money from the Astellas deal—it expects its cash, cash equivalents, and investments to fund its operations into the second quarter of 2028. That's a long time in biotech years, giving the company plenty of breathing room to develop its drugs without immediate dilution fears.
On the technical side, the stock's move is dramatic. It's currently trading 12.3% above its 20-day simple moving average and 14.5% above its 100-day average, showing strong short-term momentum. Over the past 12 months, shares are up over 50%. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is sitting right at 50, which is considered neutral. However, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator is at 0.10, below its signal line of 0.15, which some traders read as a bearish signal. This creates a picture of mixed momentum underneath the explosive price move. Key resistance is seen at the $12.00 level, with support around $10.00.
In premarket trading Tuesday, Vir Biotechnology shares were up a staggering 59.49% to $11.85.
