GSK and Ideaya first linked up in 2020 to advance novel therapies for solid tumors. It is unclear why the pharma terminated the partnership.
GSK has ended a five-year relationship with Ideaya Biosciences, forcing the California biotech to reassess the future of two cancer candidates.
Ideaya revealed the termination in an SEC filing on Friday but did not say why GSK elected to pull out of the partnership. The pharma informed Ideaya of its decision on Dec. 4, with the discontinuation effective 90 days thereafter. BioSpace has reached out to GSK for comment.
In a note on Friday evening, analysts at Truist securities called the development “disappointing,” however noting that they “do not view this update as thesis-changing” for Ideaya’s pipeline. The company’s lead value driver, the firm continued, is its small-molecule kinase blocker darovasertib for uveal melanoma. Phase II/III data from this program are expected by year-end or early next year.
Despite losing a powerhouse partner, Ideaya appears confident in its ability to push forward, noting in the SEC document that the termination “does not change the expectation of cash runway into 2030.” As of Sept. 30, the biotech had roughly $1.14 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, according to its Q3 report.
GSK first entered into a partnership with Ideaya in June 2020, paying $100 million upfront, alongside a $20 million equity purchase of the biotech’s shares. The agreement also put the pharma on the hook for unspecified preclinical, clinical and sales milestones. At the heart of this partnership was Ideaya’s synthetic lethality approach to cancer: looking at specific combinations of genetic mutations that cancer cells are unable to tolerate, in turn opening up vulnerabilities for treatment.
At the time, the partners were focused on three programs—dubbed MAT2A, Pol Theta and Werner Helicase—but in August 2022, GSK abandoned MAT2A, and passed on its option for an exclusive license for a molecule, called IDE397, treating certain kinds of urothelial and lung cancer.
Following last week’s termination, GSK will also hand Pol Theta and Werner Helicase rights back to its partner. The drug developed from Pol Theta, IDE705, targets tumors with BRCA and other homologous recombination (HR) mutations, while the Werner Helicase’s molecule, IDE275, targets solid tumors with high microsatellite instability.
Ideaya will now look at “strategic options” for these two programs next year. According to Truist, these could include “seeking new partners or advancing the assets internally,” though the biotech’s decision will ultimately depend on “emerging data across the treatment landscape.”
The Ideaya termination comes after GSK’s cancer business secured a surprising comeback for Blenrep in October, winning the FDA’s approval for third-line multiple myeloma. This comes despite a decidedly negative vote from the regulator’s external advisors.
In July, GSK put $12 billion on the line to partner with China’s Hengrui Pharma and collaborate on up to 12 novel treatments for cancer, as well as respiratory and immunology diseases.
