Incyte picked up MGA012 and the exclusive rights to develop the drug worldwide.
Incyte struck a deal worth up to $900 million with Maryland-based MacroGenics, Inc. for that company’s investigational PD-1 inhibitor as part of a move to strengthen its position in the immuno-oncology field.
Incyte picked up MGA012 and the exclusive rights to develop the drug worldwide. As part of the deal, MacroGenics will retain the right to develop its pipeline in combination with MGA012.
MGA012 is currently in Phase I testing as a monotherapy across four solid tumor types.
Incyte announced the deal this morning. Chief Medical Officer Steven Stein said PD-1 inhibitors have become a “mainstay of cancer treatment across multiple tumor types.” Adding MGA012 to the company’s pipeline is an important step to fulfilling Incyte’s “long-term development strategy in immuno-oncology,” Stein said.
“This collaboration with MacroGenics will allow us to rapidly explore the potential clinical benefit of developing MGA012 as a monotherapy and also combining anti-PD-1 therapy with several of our existing portfolio assets,” Stein said in a statement.
Shares of MacroGenics shot up more than 36 percent in pre-market trading, hitting $23.65 above Tuesday’s closing price of $16.19. The deal with Incyte is good news for MacroGenics which saw the September termination of a $700 million deal with Janssen Pharmaceuticals for MGD011, a CD19/CD3 DART molecule for B cell malignancies over concerns of neurotoxicity.
The addition of the PD-1 inhibitor will align with Incyte’s IDO1 drug programs, which it is testing with PD-1 inhibitors from Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Earlier this year, Incyte and BMS forged a deal to evaluate the combination of epacadostat, an investigational oral selective IDO1 enzyme inhibitor, and BMS’ Opdivo as a first-line therapy for non-small cell lung cancer across the spectrum of PD-L1 expression and first-line treatment for head and neck cancer.
As part of the collaboration, Incyte will pay MacroGenics an upfront fee of $150 million. MacroGenics will also be eligible to receive up to $420 million in potential development and regulatory milestones and up to $330 million in potential commercial milestones. If MGA012 is approved and commercialized, MacroGenics would be eligible to receive royalties, tiered from 15 percent to 24 percent, on future sales of MGA012 by Incyte, according to the terms of the deal. The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of the fourth quarter of this year.
Scott Koenig, president and chief executive officer of MacroGenics, called Incyte the “ideal partner” for developing MGA012. He said that company’s immuno-oncology portfolio and “dedication” to developing cancer therapies provide the right formula for the development of the anti PD-1 drug.
“Furthermore, we look forward to exploring the combination of MGA012 with multiple molecules in our own portfolio, including DART molecules for redirected T-cell killing, antibodies with enhanced effector function and ADCs, potentially to provide improved patient benefit,” Koenig said in a statement.
Shares of Incyte closed at $114.04 on Tuesday.
