Amphista Therapeutics, a global leader in the discovery and development of next generation targeted protein degradation (TPD) therapeutics, May 4th announced a strategic collaboration and license agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck Healthcare, a division of Merck.
Under the terms of the agreement, Bristol Myers Squibb and Amphista will work collaboratively to discover and develop small molecule protein degraders. Bristol Myers Squibb will be granted a global exclusive license to the degraders developed and will be responsible for further development and commercialization activities. Amphista will receive a $30 million upfront payment, the potential for up to $1.25 billion in performance-based milestone payments and payment for a limited expansion of the collaboration, as well as royalties on global net sales of products. The closing of the transaction is subject to the parties obtaining regulatory clearances or approvals.
According to the agreement, Merck and Amphista will also work collaboratively to discover and develop small molecule protein degraders for an initial three targets in oncology and immunology indications. Amphista will receive an upfront payment, R&D funding and success-based milestone payments of up to €893.5 million ($1.0 billion*) as well as royalties in the mid-single digit range. Completion of the transaction is subject to the parties obtaining any necessary regulatory clearances or approvals.
Nicola Thompson, CEO of Amphista, said:
Our collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb is a powerful validation of our advances in TPD research and the capabilities of our Eclipsys next-generation TPD platform. Combining our expertise with Bristol Myers Squibb’s strong legacy and experience in the protein degradation space brings new promise to the potential of delivering more effective new treatment to patients seeking treatment options.
We are extremely pleased to enter into this collaboration with Merck. This is a significant validation of the progress we have made in TPD research and the potential of our Eclipsys next-generation TPD platform. We look forward to working with the Merck team, using our combined expertise to develop new TPD therapies to treat cancers and immuno-inflammatory diseases
TPD therapies are designed to use physiological mechanisms to remove pathogenic protein from the body, offering the potential to access many disease targets previously considered “undruggable.” Amphista’s technology is specifically designed to develop next generation TPD therapeutics based on mechanistic insights and novel chemistry approaches that enable the company to develop novel protein degrading therapeutics with superior levels of efficacy and broad therapeutic applicability.
