Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories is paying $20 million upfront for the rights to Immutep’s phase 3-stage LAG-3 candidate in certain territories while leaving the Australian biotech with ownership in key markets.
Immutep demonstrated back in May that a combination of the therapy, called eftilagimod alpha, and Merck & Co.’s blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda helped patients live a median of 17.6 months when used as first-line therapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
Sydney-based Immutep is currently evaluating the therapy in a phase 3 trial for advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer as well as continuing to explore its potential in head and neck cancer, breast cancer and soft tissue sarcoma.
This morning’s deal sees Dr. Reddy’s pay $20 million upfront for the exclusive rights to eftilagimod, with Immutep also eligible for up to $349.5 million in regulatory and commercial milestone payments along with double-digit royalties on commercial sales in the relevant markets.
However, the deal notably doesn’t give the Indian generics giant the rights to eftilagimod in the key markets of North America, Europe, China and Japan.
Immutep also retains the rights to manufacture the drug across the globe, meaning it will supply eftilagimod to Dr. Reddy’s in the markets the Indian company has taken ownership of.
While Dr. Reddy’s won’t be able to take advantage of eftilagimod in the most lucrative global markets, the Hyderabad, India-based company remains pleased with the deal, placing the agreement in the context of its “continuous efforts to deliver first-in-class and innovative therapies for cancer treatment” and continue to broaden its offerings outside of its base generics business.
“Efti is a novel immunotherapy with the potential to set a new standard of care in combination with Keytruda and chemotherapy as first-line therapy for non-small cell lung cancer,” M.V. Ramana, CEO, branded markets (India and emerging markets) at Dr. Reddy’s, said in a statement.
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“Through this agreement, we look forward to leveraging our expertise and strong market access to advance the development and commercialization of this promising cancer therapy in the licensed markets,” Ramana added.
Immutep CEO Marc Voigt said the partnership “allows us to capture significant value for efti in the licensed markets, while retaining full rights in key markets such as North America, Europe, and Japan, and ensures we remain very well-positioned for future value creation.”
Voigt has previously touted a combo of eftilagimod and Keytruda as offering a potential immunotherapy-only regimen, compared to the standards today for PD-L1-negative patients that all include chemotherapy. Eftilagimod is a LAG-3 fusion protein, which activates antigen-presenting cells to boost an immune response.
Immutep is hoping to carve out a niche market from PD-L1-negative disease, which makes up about 20% of first-line HNSCC patients. As Voigt noted back in May, there’s a lack of competitor chemo-free trials targeting this population.
