(Oxford, UK, 9 July 2013) Immunocore Limited, the Oxford-based biotechnology company
developing novel biological drugs called ImmTACs to treat cancer and viral disease, today
announced it has entered into a partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for multiple novel targets
not addressable using antibody-based technologies. This is Immunocore’s second major partnership
this year.
Under the terms of the agreement, Immunocore will receive up to a total of £142 million in pre-
clinical milestone payments across the targets. In addition, for each product that reaches the market,
up to £200 million is due to Immunocore in development and commercial milestone payments, plus
up to double digit royalties. Immunocore will be responsible for all of the pre-clinical development
and for the initial clinical trials in patients and GSK will be responsible for the remaining
development and commercialisation of the products.
Immunocore has created a world-leading platform of bi-specific biological drugs, called ImmTACs
(Immune mobilising mTCR Against Cancer), which exploit the power of T Cell Receptors (TCRs) to
recognise intracellular changes that occur during cancer or viral infection. This unique recognition
ability of TCRs sets them apart from traditional antibody-based therapies that can only recognise
changes on the surface of cells, and provides, for the first time, the ability to develop extremely
potent targeted therapies for cancers that are currently poorly served. The most advanced ImmTAC
drug, IMCgp100 for the treatment of melanoma, is currently in Phase I/II clinical trials in the UK and
USA.
James Noble, Chief Executive Officer of Immunocore, commented: “We are delighted to collaborate
with GSK, our second major partnership signed this year. GSK is a leading pharmaceutical company
with a proven track record in the development of biotherapeutics and this is an important
partnership for Immunocore.”
Laurent Jespers, VP and Head of Innovation BDU, Biopharm R&D of GSK, said: “We are very excited
about the opportunity to work together with Immunocore to develop ImmTACs. We believe
ImmTACs offer a tremendous opportunity in treating cancer and in other areas where there is a
large unmet medical need.”
(Oxford, UK, 27 June 2013) Immunocore Limited, the Oxford-based biotechnology
company developing novel biological drugs known as ImmTACs to treat cancer and viral
disease, today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration and licensing
agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX:
RHHBY) for the discovery and development of multiple novel cancer targets using
Immunocore’s ImmTAC technology.
Under the terms of the agreement, Immunocore will receive an initiation fee of
between $10 and $20 million per programme and is eligible to receive in excess of $300
million in development and commercial milestone payments for each target programme
and significant tiered royalties.
Immunocore has created a world-leading platform of bi-specific biological drugs, called
ImmTACs, which exploit the power of T Cell Receptors (TCRs) to recognise intracellular
changes that occur during cancer or viral infection. This unique recognition ability of
TCRs sets them apart from traditional antibody-based therapies that can only recognise
changes on the surface of cells, and provides, for the first time, the ability to develop
extremely potent targeted therapies for cancers that are currently poorly served. A
particular feature is that the ImmTACs can be directed to target and destroy only the
cancerous cells, avoiding damage to healthy cells.
James Noble, Chief Executive Officer of Immunocore, commented: “We are very pleased
to have Genentech, a recognized leader in oncology, on board as our first major partner
to discover, develop and commercialise ImmTAC therapies against multiple cancer
targets.”
James Sabry, Senior Vice President of Genentech Partnering, said: “We believe
Immunocore is the leading company in T Cell receptor biology and drug development
and an excellent partner for Genentech in this area. We are delighted to have initiated
this significant partnership with them. We hope this collaboration will lead to
breakthrough therapies for cancer patients with unmet medical needs.”
Bent Jakobsen, Chief Scientific Officer and founder of Immunocore, added: “Our
collaboration with Genentech generating ImmTACs against these novel targets allows us
jointly to explore the true potential of the technology. We have established a robust and
reproducible platform and we look forward to see ImmTACs addressing some of the
major challenges in cancer therapy.” |
