Date: 2013-06-27
Type of information: R&D agreement
Compound: novel cancer targets
Company: Immunocore (UK) Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (USA - Switzerland)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: R&D licensing
Action mechanism:
Disease:
Details: * On June 27, 2013, Immunocore, an Oxford-based biotechnology company developing novel biological drugs known as ImmTACs to treat cancer and viral diseases, has announced that it has entered into a research collaboration and licensing agreement with Genentech for the discovery and development of multiple novel cancer targets using Immunocore’s ImmTAC technology. Immunocore has created a platform of bi-specific biological drugs, called ImmTACs (Immune mobilising mTCR Against Cancer), which exploit the power of T Cell Receptors (TCRs) to recognise intracellular changes that occur during cancer or viral infection. This unique recognition ability of TCRs sets them apart from traditional antibody-based therapies that can only recognise changes on the surface of cells, and provides, for the first time, the ability to develop extremely potent targeted therapies for cancers that are currently poorly served. A particular feature is that the ImmTACs can be directed to target and destroy only the cancerous cells, avoiding damage to healthy cells.
The most advanced ImmTAC drug, IMCgp100, is currently in clinical trials in melanoma patients in both the US and UK (NCT01211262). These trials have been initiated in 2010.
Financial terms: Under the terms of the agreement, Immunocore will receive an initiation fee of between $10 and $20 million per programme and is eligible to receive in excess of $300 million in development and commercial milestone payments for each target programme and significant tiered royalties.
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