DUBLIN – Blueprint Medicines Corp. is banking $775 million, including $675 million up front and another $100 million as an equity investment, from a co-commercialization deal with Roche Holding AG and its Genentech subsidiary involving RET inhibitor pralsetinib. The deal also includes up to $927 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestones, $90 million of which are described as “near-term,” plus tiered royalties on ex-U.S. sales, ranging from the high-teens to mid-twenties.
Nextcure Inc. won’t advance the non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and ovarian cancer cohorts in the stage two portion of its phase I/II study of NC-318, a monoclonal antibody targeting Siglec-15 (S15), as a monotherapy. The data and decision prompted the company stock to shed more than half its value July 13 and several analysts to adjust their price targets downward.
Two California companies – Nkarta Inc. and Poseida Therapeutics Inc. – scored impressive IPOs but with decidedly different post-pricing performance, as Wall Street showed its enthusiasm for the former’s natural killer (NK) cell research by pushing shares (NASDAQ:NKTX) up 166%, to close July 10 at $47.90, an increase of $29.90.
BEIJING – Known for its transgenic mouse platforms to develop antibodies, U.S., China and the Netherlands-based Harbour Biomed Therapeutics Ltd. closed a series C funding round July 9 to raise $102.8 million to advance its late-stage clinical programs and COVID-19 pipeline.
Privately held Foghorn Therapeutics Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., cut a collaboration deal with Merck & Co. Inc. to discover and develop therapeutics targeting the chromatin regulatory system in oncology that could eventually bring in as much as $450 million.
Zymeworks Inc.’s business update – which included a new, potential $891 million deal for multispecific antibody drugs with longtime partner Merck & Co. Inc. – drew mixed reviews from Wall Street, especially with regard to phase I prospect ZW-49.
HONG KONG – China and U.S.-based Zai Lab Ltd. has inked a deal to develop and commercialize Turning Point Therapeutics Inc.’s lead drug candidate, repotrectinib, in the greater China markets.
Velosbio Inc., a San Diego-based company developing cancer therapies targeting receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1), has raised $137 million in series B financing to support development of its lead antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), VLS-101, and continued expansion of its pipeline.
Kiadis Pharma NV’s takeover last year of Cytosen Therapeutics Inc. to get a natural killer (NK) platform paid off in a potentially huge way, with Sanofi SA paying €17.5 million (US$19.7 million) up front in a licensing deal with as much as €857.5 million more if preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial goals are reached, as well as up to double-digit royalties.
Corvus Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s success in treating a COVID-19 patient previously diagnosed with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with CPI-006 helped boost shares (NASDAQ:CRVS) to $4.96, up $2.21, or 181%, as the Burlingame, Calif.-based company disclosed the start of a phase I study to investigate the anti-CD73 immunotherapy prospect.
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