February 23, 2015
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor
South San Francisco, Calif.-based Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced Monday that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company that will develop cancer drugs based on Rigel’s portfolio of small molecule TGF beta receptor kinase inhibitors.“So far, Rigel has identified a large number of orally bioavailable, potent and selective small molecule inhibitors of TGF beta receptor kinases that have demonstrated in vivo efficacy, in preclinical animal models of cancer, consistent with an immune-mediated mechanism of action,” said the company
The company currently has multiple drugs in mid- or late-stage clinical trials. Those include fostamatinib, an oral spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitor, which is in Phase III clinical trials for immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and initiating a Phase II clinical trial for IgA nephropathy (IgAN); R348, a topical JAK/SYK inhibitor, in a Phase III clinical trial for dry eye in ocular graft-versus-host disease (GvHD).
It also has two oncology product candidates in Phase I development with partners BerGenBio AG and Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.; and two preclinical programs with AstraZeneca for R256 in asthma and Bristol-Myers Squibb for TGF beta inhibitors in immuno-oncology.
Under the terms of the deal, Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay Rigel $30 million upfront with developmental and regulatory milestones that could add up to more than $309 million. Bristol-Myers Squibb gets exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialize any drugs that come from the collaboration, while Rigel will also be eligible to receive tiered royalties on the net sales of any products from the collaboration.
“As a company dedicated to leading scientific advances in immuno-oncology, we are committed to exploring the utility of TGF beta inhibition as a potential therapeutic to fight certain cancers,” said Carl Decicco, head of Discovery and Research and Development at Bristol-Myers Squibb in a statement. “Working with Rigel and having access to their TGF beta receptor kinase inhibitors extends our existing portfolio of immunotherapeutic approaches to include this key mediator of immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment.”
The partnership is gaining notice because recent research has suggest that TGF beta can act as an immunosuppressant for effector cell proliferation, while simultaneously promoting differentiation of certain suppressive T-cells. Those can significantly dampen anti-tumor host immune responses, which can hinder or even stop tumor growth.
“This collaboration places our TGF beta receptor kinase inhibitor program into the hands of Bristol-Myers Squibb, a premier immuno-oncology company. Together, we believe TGF beta inhibition may offer novel therapeutic opportunities in oncology treatments,” said Raul Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of Rigel. “Rigel has focused on immunology, and oncology via numerous partnerships. This collaboration is Rigel‘s first in immuno-oncology and is one of the Company’s several programs in this area.”
BioSpace Temperature Poll
Analyst Mark Schoenebaum, a biotech and pharmaceuticals analyst and medical doctor for ISI Group Evercore, has been running a Best Hair in Biopharma contest for several months now. So far, the candidates are Bristol-Myers Squibb Company‘s John Elicker, Receptos’ Chief Executive Officer Faheem Hasnain, Celgene‘s Vice President of Investor Relations Patrick Flanigan and Acorda Therapeutics’ Ron Cohen.
We want to know what our BioSpace community thinks: Who do you believe actually has the Best Hair in BioPharma?
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