GSK, Immatics Partner to Develop Adoptive Cell Therapies in $600-M-Plus Pact
Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company for T-cell redirecting cancer immunotherapies, has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to develop novel adoptive cell therapies targeting multiple cancer indications in a deal worth up to more than $600 million.
Under the agreement, Immatics will receive an upfront payment of EUR 45 million ($50 million) for two initial programs and is eligible to receive over $550 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments for each product as well as additional royalty payments.
The companies will collaborate on the identification, research and development of new T-cell receptor (TCR) therapeutics with a focus on solid tumors. The parties will initially develop autologous T-cell therapies with the option to add allogeneic cell therapies using Immatics’ genetically engineered allogenic donor T-cells, or ACTallo approach. The companies intend to utilize proprietary TCRs identified by Immatics’ XCEPTOR TCR discovery platform for discovery and qualification of a large number of high-affinity and high-specificity T-cell receptors and directed against two proprietary targets, which were discovered and validated by Immatics’ XPRESIDENT technology, which uses high-throughput technology to identify targets for immunotherapies in cancer.
Immatics will have primary responsibility for the development and validation of the TCR therapeutics up to designation of a clinical candidate. GSK will assume sole responsibility for further worldwide development, manufacturing and commercialization of the TCR therapeutics with the possibility for Immatics to co-develop one or more TCR therapeutics, including the conduct of the first-in-human clinical trial upon GSK’s request.
Source: Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH