Halozyme Gains on $4 Million Payment: Los Angeles Mover

Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (HALO) gained after a filing by partner Roche Holding AG (ROG) with European regulators triggered a $4 million milestone payment.

Halozyme gained 3.5 percent to $5.94 at the close of New York trading. The San Diego-based company has declined 39 percent in the past 12 months.

Halozyme said two days ago that Roche had submitted a line extension application with the European Medicines Agency for a subcutaneous formulation of MabThera for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. That formulation of the medicine, which would shorten treatment times, uses Halozyme technology that Roche licensed in 2006 for as much as $612 million. Halozyme’s technology enables the injection of large amounts of medication under the skin so patients can receive an injection rather than an IV infusion.

“Offering a subcutaneous formulation of MabThera could provide patients with a therapy which is less invasive, shortens administration times and potentially reduces health-care costs,” Gregory I. Frost, Halozyme’s chief executive officer, said in a statement two days ago.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shannon Pettypiece in New York at spettypiece@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net