Bristol-Myers Squibb and Innate Pharma sign licensing agreement
BM-S pays US$35m for global rights to an immuno-oncology biologic
Bristol-Myers Squibb will make an upfront payment of US$35m to French firm Innate Pharma as part of a global agreement to develop a new antibody in Phase I development for the treatment of cancer.
Innate Pharma will grant to Bristol-Myers Squibb exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise IPH2102 plus related compounds blocking KIR receptors.
Innate Pharma could potentially earn additional payments of up to US$430m, as well as pre-specified tiered double-digit royalty payments on worldwide net sales.
‘This agreement is the largest biotech licensing deal ever signed in France. Entering such a collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb gives Innate Pharma a strong validation of the key concepts of its science,’ said Hervé Brailly, chief executive of Innate Pharma.
‘Bristol Myers Squibb is a global leader in the field of immuno-oncology and therefore the best possible partner to fully realise the potential of IPH2102 and we look forward to this collaboration.’
Francis Cuss, senior vice president, research at Bristol-Myers Squibb, said Innate Pharma has developed a ‘deep understanding of the immune system’.
‘Working together we have the opportunity to develop IPH2102, a potential first-in-class biologic that may be able to harness a patient’s immune system in the fight against cancer,’ he added.
