MacroGenics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited have entered into a collaboration agreement to develop and commercialize up to four product candidates. These four research programs are in addition to MGD010, which was the subject of a prior agreement announced in May 2014. Each of these product candidates will be directed against jointly selected pairs of molecular targets and incorporate MacroGenics' Dual-Affinity Re-Targeting (DART) proprietary platform.

Under the terms of this second agreement, Takeda receives an option to obtain an exclusive worldwide license for each of the four product candidates and will fund all research and development activities related to the programs, including reimbursement of MacroGenics' expenses. Assuming successful development and commercialization by Takeda, MacroGenics could receive up to an additional approximately $400 million in program initiation, pre-clinical, clinical, regulatory, and commercialization milestone payments for each of four potential product candidates. If commercialized, MacroGenics would receive double-digit royalties on any global net sales and has the option to co-promote each product candidate with Takeda in the United States. Finally, MacroGenics may elect to fund a portion of Phase III clinical development of each product candidate in exchange for a North American profit share.

MacroGenics’ DART platform enables the targeting of multiple antigens or cells by using a single molecule with an antibody-like structure. The company has created over 100 DART molecules which have been configured for the potential treatment of cancer, autoimmune disorders and infectious disease. These DART molecules can be tailored for either short or prolonged pharmacokinetics and have demonstrated good stability and attractive manufacturability. The company has advanced its first DART molecule, MGD006, into clinical development and expects to advance its second DART molecule, MGD007, into clinical development in the second half of 2014.

Source: Takeda Pharmaceutical