Date: 2015-02-23
Type of information: Development agreement
Compound: small molecule TGF beta receptor kinase inhibitors
Company: BMS (USA - NY) Rigel Pharmaceuticals (USA - CA)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: R&D development commercialisation
Action mechanism: tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Within the immune system, TGF beta often plays an immunosuppressive role by potently suppressing effector cell proliferation and function while simultaneously promoting differentiation of certain suppressive T-cells. This master regulator is often present within tumor microenvironments and can significantly dampen anti-tumor host immune responses. Current evidence suggests that TGF beta can arise from many sources, including the cancer itself, surrounding cells and infiltrating macrophages. Developing a drug that inhibits TGF beta signaling in cancer patients has the potential to counteract an important mechanism used by cancers to escape immuno-surveillance, thereby making this signaling pathway an appealing therapeutic target for immuno-oncology related applications.
Disease:
Details: * On February 23, 2015, Rigel Pharmaceuticals and BMS announced that they have entered into a collaboration agreement for the discovery, development and commercialization of cancer immunotherapies based on Rigel's extensive portfolio of small molecule TGF beta receptor kinase inhibitors. The collaboration will focus on developing a new class of therapeutics aimed at increasing the immune system's activity against various cancers either as monotherapy or in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors, including Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo® (nivolumab) and Yervoy® (ipilimumab). Under the terms of the agreement, BMS will obtain exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialize small molecule therapeutics derived from Rigel's TGF beta library, including, but not limited to, those approved to treat cancer.
Financial terms: BMS will pay $30 million upfront and Rigel will be eligible to receive development and regulatory milestones that could total more than $309 million for a successful compound approved in multiple indications. Rigel will also be eligible to receive tiered royalties on the net sales of any products from the collaboration.
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