Dec. 11 Quick Takes: BMS paying $800M up front for SystImmune’s bispecific ADC
Plus: Pain, hearing loss company Hoba raises €23M and more from Novartis, Cogent and Zafrens
Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY) has licensed a bispecific topoisomerase inhibitor-based antibody-drug conjugate targeting EGFRxHER3 from SystImmune Inc. for $800 million up front and up to $500 million in near-term payments. SystImmune is eligible for milestone payments of up to $7.1 billion for a total deal value of $8.4 billion. The companies will co-develop and co-commercialize BL-B01D1 in the U.S., with SystImmune retaining exclusive rights in mainland China, and BMS gaining an exclusive license in the rest of the world. BL-B01D1 is in Phase I testing to treat metastatic or unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and has also been tested in a range of other solid tumors that progressed after standard of care treatments, including breast cancer.
New modalities have been breathing new life into HER3, a historically challenging target. An ADC against HER3 was included in October’s multibillion dollar deal between Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4568). SystImmune Inc. is a U.S.-based unit of Sichuan Biokin Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. ...