As part of a pipeline realignment, Bristol Myers Squibb is returning the rights to Agenus for its proprietary TIGIT bispecific antibody program and terminating their 2021 license, development and commercialization agreement.
Agenus announced in an SEC filing on Friday that Bristol Myers Squibb, as part of a broader strategic pipeline realignment, is returning the rights to the biotech for its proprietary TIGIT bispecific antibody program and their 2021 licensing agreement.
The filing said that BMS will return to Agenus the rights to AGEN1777, a bispecific antibody which binds TIGIT and CD96 on T cells. In 2021, the companies inked an exclusive license to develop, manufacture, and eventually commercialize AGEN1777.
The biotech received a $200 million cash payment upfront and was eligible to receive up to $1.3 billion in milestone payments. To date, Agenus has received two milestone payments of $20 million and $25 million in 2021 and 2024, respectively.
The return of AGEN1777 and termination of the license agreement will be effective as of Jan. 26, 2025, with BMS giving Agenus all of the regulatory registrations, authorizations and approvals that the pharma has accrued. Agenus will not have to pay any early termination penalties and “will have the right to continue development or enter a subsequent license in the future,” according to the SEC filing.
Agenus noted in its filing that it received notice on July 30 that BMS was returning AGEN1777 “as part of a broader strategic realignment of their development pipeline which involves other licensed products.”
BMS has been implementing cost-cutting measures in its overall business, including plans to lay off over 2,000 employees by the end of the year to generate around $1.5 billion in savings through 2025.
For the future development of AGEN1777, Agenus said that the asset had no clinical data when the deal was made but “significant safety data” has been generated in early-stage trials, with plans to develop the candidate further.
“We intend to explore further development and/or relicensing of this molecule, including potential combinations with our portfolio of synergistic immuno-oncology agents,” the filing said.
However, TIGIT antibodies have been struggling clinically. In May 2024, Merck ended a late-stage trial of a TIGIT-Keytruda combo in skin cancer, while Roche stopped a Phase II/III in June as its anti-TIGIT tiragolumab was not able to significantly improve survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
AGEN1777’s return to Agenus comes it disclosed last month that the FDA advised against the biotech applying for accelerated approval for its investigational immunotherapy, a combination of botensilimab and balstilimab for treating a subtype of refractory colorectal cancer, after unveiling mid-stage data.
