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Just weeks afternamingantibody-drug conjugates as one of its pillar modalities, Takedapledged more than $11 billionto partner with China’s Innovent, advancing three next-generation cancer therapies for a variety of indications.
Takeda is fronting $1.2 billion, including a $100 million equity investment in Innovent, for co-development rights for two assets: the bispecific antibody fusion protein IBI363, being tested for non-small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer, and the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) IBI343, for gastric/gastroesophageal cancers and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The Japanese pharma will also have the option to join in development on a third drug, IBI3001, an early-stage asset for solid tumors.
If these assets hit all development and sales milestones, Innovent will be entitled to receive payments reaching around $10.2 billion, resulting in a total deal value of $11.4 billion. Innovent is also eligible for royalties on sales outside the Greater China region, except for revenues on IBI363 in the U.S., where the partners have agreed to share profits and losses. Innovent and Takeda will split the development costs of, and profits from, IBI363 at a 40/60 ratio.
In a statement announcing the deal Wednesday, Teresa Bitetti, president of Takeda’s Global Oncology Business Unit, said the two main assets involved in the deal—IBI363 and IBI343—“have the potential to address critical treatment gaps for patients with a range of solid tumors.” Both molecules are “next-generational investigational medicines,” Bitetti added.
IBI363 is a bispecific antibody fusion protein that could potentially be the first medicine in this class. It works by blocking the PD-1 pathway and simultaneously activating the IL-2 cascade, in turn improving the immune system’s anti-cancer activity.
In the companies’ release, Takeda and Innovent claimed that IBI363 demonstrated “outstanding” tumor response in a phase Ib/II study, resulting in “preliminary survival benefits” across a variety of solid tumors, including colorectal cancer and immunotherapy-resistant lung cancer.
Meanwhile, IBI343 targets the CLDN18.2 marker and carries a topoisomerase 1 inhibitor payload. The asset has received the FDA’s Fast Track designation for previously treated advanced unresectable or metastatic PDAC, for which it has completed a global Phase I/II study. Takeda will have the exclusive right over IBI343 outside the Greater China region.
Correction (Oct. 23): This story has been updated to more accurately reflect the fact that IBI363 is not an antibody-drug conjugate and that IBI3001 is being trialed for solid tumors.BioSpaceregrets the errors.