Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Arcus Biosciences, Inc. announced that the companies have entered into a 10-year partnership to co-develop and co-commercialize current and future therapeutic product candidates in Arcus’s pipeline. The agreement will also provide ongoing funding to support Arcus’s research and development programs.
Arcus is building an extensive and diverse portfolio of investigational products that target important mechanisms involved in tumor evasion of the immune system, as well as developing drug candidates that target cell-intrinsic pathways important for cancer growth and metastasis. In addition to small molecule products, Arcus is also advancing antibody products that target immune checkpoint receptors, including PD-1 and TIGIT. Arcus currently has a clinical-stage pipeline of four immuno-oncology programs, as well as an active oncology discovery pipeline with six preclinical compounds that target critical biological pathways. A core component of Arcus’s strategy is the development of intra-portfolio combinations that include small-molecule and antibody product candidates. Arcus has 10 ongoing clinical studies of molecules in its portfolio, including a randomized Phase 2 study in first-line non-small cell lung cancer evaluating combinations of three Arcus product candidates: AB154, an investigational anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody; AB928, an investigational A2aR/A2bR antagonist; and zimberelimab (AB122), an investigational anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody.
Under the terms of the agreement, Arcus will receive $375 million upon closing, consisting of a $175 million upfront payment and a $200 million equity investment from Gilead. Arcus is eligible to receive up to $1.225 billion in opt-in and milestone payments with respect to its current clinical product candidates...
Full text at GMPnews.Net