Under the deal, BMS will develop and commercialise the drug in regions outside of the collaboration territories, while Eisai can produce and supply MORAb-202 worldwide

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Eisai head office at Bunkyo-ku, in Tokyo. (Credit: KW at Japanese Wikipedia.)

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has teamed up with Japanese pharmaceutical firm Eisai to co-develop and co-commercialise MORAb-202, the latter’s antibody drug conjugate (ADC).

Under the agreement, Eisai and BMS will jointly develop and commercialise MORAb-202 in collaboration territories.

The collaboration territories include Japan, China, Asia-Pacific countries, the US, Canada, the European Union (EU), the UK, and Russia.

BMS will develop and commercialise the drug in regions outside of the collaboration territories, while Eisai can produce and supply MORAb-202 worldwide.

Eisai will receive $650m, including $200m as payment for its research and development expenses, in addition to royalty on sales outside of the collaboration territories.

Also, the company is eligible to receive up to $2.45bn in potential future milestones payments, subject to development, regulatory approvals, and commercialisation.

Both parties have agreed to share profits, research and development and commercialisation costs in the collaboration territories.

Eisai would book MORAb-202’s sales in Japan, China, Asia-Pacific countries, Europe and Russia, while BMS in the US and Canada.

MORAb-202 is an ADC that combines Eisai’s in-house developed anti-folate receptor alpha (FRα) antibody, and its anticancer agent eribulin using an enzyme cleavable linker.

It is a potential FRα ADC with a favourable pharmacology profile and demonstrated single-agent activity in patients with advanced solid tumours, said the company.

Eisai is currently evaluating the drug in FRα-positive solid tumours, including endometrial, ovarian, lung and breast cancers, in a Phase 1 trial in Japan and a Phase 1/2 trial in the US.

Eisai chief executive officer Haruo Naito said: “MORAb-202 combines Eisai’s in-house discovered antibody and payload using the company’s advanced chemistry capabilities.

“It is characterised by its payload of eribulin, which is a product of our modern synthetic organic chemistry that has already made contributions to patients with breast cancer and soft tissue sarcoma.

“Our collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb will accelerate the development of MORAb-202 with the goal of bringing a potentially impactful treatment option to patients globally.”

Last month, BMS has expanded its collaboration with UK-based AI-driven pharma company Exscientia, to advance the discovery of small molecule therapeutic drug candidates in multiple therapeutic areas.