Gilead will obtain an option to licence EVOQ’s nanodisc technology and exclusive rights to develop and commercialise immunotherapy candidates targeting rheumatoid arthritis and lupus indications
Gilead, EVOQ collaborate on immunotherapies. (Credit: Louis Reed on Unsplash)
US-based biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences has signed a collaboration and licencing agreement with immunotherapy company EVOQ Therapeutics.
The collaboration aims to advance EVOQ’s NanoDisc technology for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and lupus.
NanoDisc technology is said to enable the lymph-targeted delivery of disease-specific antigens and has the potential to transform the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
Under the terms of the agreement, Gilead will obtain the option to exclusively licence rights to EVOQ’s NanoDisc technology.
The company will pursue immunotherapy candidates for RA and lupus indications and will be responsible for clinical development and commercialisation.
EVOQ will receive an upfront payment of up to $658.5m, along with option exercise and milestone payments, and tiered royalties on product sales.
Gilead research executive vice president Flavius Martin said: “Despite key advances over the past two decades, there remains a significant unmet need for people living with inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
“We are excited to collaborate with EVOQ to further expand our autoimmune pipeline with the goal of addressing the needs of people living with these conditions.”
EVOQ CEO William Brinkerhoff said: “Gilead has an incredible track record in therapeutic development and of delivering innovative medicines to people around the world.”
In a separate development, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has validated a Type II variation Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for Gilead’s cancer drug Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy).
The drug is indicated for unresectable or metastatic HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer in adults, who received endocrine-based therapy and at least two systemic therapies.
Gilead’s MAA is based on data from the Phase 3 TROPiCS-02 study, which met its primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS), and the key secondary endpoint of overall survival (OS), compared to comparator chemotherapies.
Gilead Oncology therapeutic area head and senior vice president Bill Grossman said: “Trodelvy is already moving us towards this ambition and changing the standard of care in second-line metastatic triple-negative breast cancer across the EU.
“The validation of our Marketing Authorisation Application in pre-treated HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer marks an important step forward to potentially making Trodelvy available to even more patients with severely limited treatment options.”