BMS hopes for Yervoy sequel with new deal
pharmafile | March 18, 2014 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Avapro, BMS, Plavix, Yervoy, five prime, immune-oncology
Bristol-Myers Squibb has announced a new research and development deal with Five Prime Therapeutics aimed at discovering potentially new cancer vaccine targets.
Specifically, Californian biotech Five Prime Therapeutics has signed the collaboration with BMS for the discovery, development and commercialisation of immuno-oncology therapies directed toward targets identified in two undisclosed immune checkpoint pathways using its target discovery platform.
Immuno-oncology has become a major area for BMS in recent years after the 2011 launch of its cancer vaccine Yervoy (ipilimumab) that is licensed to treat advanced melanoma. The drug has seen stellar sales reaching blockbuster status just two short years after its introduction.
It will hope for equal success from any new candidates coming from Five Prime as it looks to shore up lost revenue due to generic competition for its former blockbuster heart drugs Avapro and Plavix, amongst others.
Under the terms of the deal, BMS will obtain exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialise products directed toward certain protein targets identified by Five Prime prior to, and during the collaboration.
The US firm will make an upfront payment of $20 million to Five Prime and provide up to $9.5 million in research funding over the course of the research term. On top of this, BMS will make a payment of around $21 million to acquire 4.9% of Five Prime’s stock, buying it at a 30% premium.
On its side of the deal Five Prime will be eligible to receive up to $300 million in future development, regulatory and sales based milestone payments per collaboration target. It will also be eligible to receive and tiered mid-single-digit rising to low-double-digit royalty payments on net sales of each product that is successfully sold by BMS.
In a statement BMS says it will “leverage Five Prime’s platform to advance its existing immuno-oncology programmes by identifying the most viable drug targets for continued research and development”.
Drug candidates developed against these new and existing targets may be studied either as single agents, or in combination with existing or potential BMS immuno-oncology therapies, the company added.
Francis Cuss, chief scientific officer at BMS says: “Immuno-oncology has the potential to be transformational in the treatment of cancer, and Bristol-Myers Squibb has an extensive clinical pipeline and discovery programs dedicated to maximising this field of research.
“Five Prime’s innovative technology platforms complement our immuno-oncology pipeline and will help expand our understanding of promising new therapeutic options for patients.”
Lewis Williams, president and chief executive of Five Prime, added: “We are thrilled to enter this important collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb, an undisputed leader in the exciting field of immuno-oncology.
“This strategic alliance is evidence that our protein discovery platform is ideally suited to identify novel immune checkpoint targets for the development of next generation immuno-oncology therapeutics.”
Ben Adams
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