
Glaxo pays handsomely to join the Tigit chase
That Glaxosmithkline was prepared to part with $625m up front for Iteos’s phase 1 anti-Tigit MAb EOS-448 shows that the pharma giant considers this a "must own" immuno-oncology mechanism. The terms point to a highly competitive process, which also means that there must be other large developers shopping in this space. The big three I-O players already have assets in their pipelines, but there are plenty of others, like Astrazeneca and Pfizer, that would presumably be interested. That is great for news for those unencumbered projects, and it is no coincidence that Mereo shares opened up 15% today, a surge that soon settled down to a 5% rise. Still, while the Glaxo-Iteos deal sounds rich, it is worth remembering that the small biotech has agreed to pay 40% of the R&D costs associated with an “aggressive” pre-agreed global development plan; in return, Iteos will jointly commercialise EOS-448 in the US and get 50% of the profits from the region. A further $550m is available if certain clinical and regulatory hurdles are crossed, with another $900m attached to sales milestones. The tiny Belgian developer has long been a proponent of Tigit, and this deal certainly justifies its enthusiasm: Iteos shares surged 30% in early trade.
Chasing Tigit: few unencumbered assets remain | ||
---|---|---|
Project |
Company |
Project source and status |
Available to the highest bidder? | ||
Ociperlimab | Beigene | In-house; wholly owned, in ph3 |
Etigilimab | Mereo | Oncomed originated; Celgene turned down option in July 2019, now wholly owned, in ph1/2 |
IBI939 | Innovent | In-house; wholly owned, in ph1 |
SGN-TGT | Seagen | In-house; wholly owned, in ph1 |
COM902 | Compugen | In-house; wholly owned, in ph1 |
AGEN1327 | Agenus | In-house; wholly owned, preclinical |
Already wrapped up… | ||
Tiragolumab | Roche | In-house; wholly owned, in ph3 |
Vibostolimab | Merck & Co | In-house; wholly owned, in ph3 |
Domvanalimab | Arcus | Gilead option; data and decision due soon. Otsuka owns certain Asia rights, in ph2/3 |
BMS-986207 | Bristol Myers Squibb | In-house; Ono owns certain Asian rights, in ph1/2 |
M6223 | Merck KGaA | In-house; wholly owned, in ph1 |
EOS-448 | Iteos | Licensed to Glaxo in Jun 2021 deal, in ph1 |
AGEN1777 (bispecific) | Agenus/Bristol Myers Squibb | Licensed to Bristol Myers in May 2021, preclinical |
AB308 | Arcus | Gilead has an option under a 2020 deal, in ph1 |
JS006 | Junshi/Coherus | Junshi originated; Coherus bought an option over the project in a Feb 2021 deal. Preclinical. |
Source: Evaluate Pharma & company presentations. |
(This story has been updated to include the Junshi Tigit project.)