Bristol Myers Squibb will pay $350M-plus to add prostate cancer imaging agent
Bristol Myers Squibb is paying over $350 million to acquire the rights to a prostate cancer imaging agent and therapeutic, the pharmaceutical giant announced June 10.
The company has inked a definitive deal to license the exclusive worldwide rights for the drug from Philochem, a Swiss biotechnology firm. Along with the nine-figure upfront payment, Bristol Myers Squibb will pay up to $1 billion more tied to developmental, regulatory and commercial milestones, along with eventual royalties.
BMS is executing the deal through subsidiary radiopharmaceutical company RayzeBio, which it acquired last year for $4.1 billion. The Princeton, New Jersey-based drugmaker this time is adding OncoACP3, a clinical-stage therapeutic and diagnostic imaging agent.
The compound currently is under investigation in a Phase 1 trial involving humans and has shown promising early results, displaying healthy tissue uptake and long residence time in study subjects.
“OncoACP3, with its initial encouraging safety profile, provides a differentiated entry for Bristol Myers Squibb and RayzeBio into the prostate cancer arena, building on our leadership in actinium-based RPT development. patients.” Ben Hickey, RayzeBio president, said in a statement June 10. “This agreement is a significant milestone for RayzeBio and our goal to deliver radiopharmaceuticals to patients.”
The closing is still subject to regulatory approval and other conditions, with both sides hoping to finalize the transaction by September.
OncoACP3 is a small molecule ligand with high affinity and specificity for acid phosphatase 3, a novel target in prostate cancer. RayzeBio’s current most advanced radiopharmaceutical product is RYZ101, a therapy in Phase 3 trials for treating a certain type of a type of gastrointestinal cancer. The company is now recruiting patients whose disease has not responded to treatment with Lutathera, a Novartis radiopharmaceutical approved by the FDA in 2018, MedCity News reported.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.