Amgen, Immatics ink deal potentially worth over $1 billion to develop cancer immunotherapies

Amgen and Immatics Biotechnologies on Monday announced an agreement potentially worth more than $1 billion to jointly develop next-generation, T-cell engaging bispecific immunotherapies targeting multiple cancers. Under the deal, Amgen will make Immatics an upfront payment of $30 million, with the latter company eligible for more than $500 million in various milestones for each programme, plus tiered royalties up to a double-digit percentage of net sales.

Amgen executive vice president of R&D Sean Harper said "the intersection of immunology and oncology represents a promising and rapidly developing approach that can have a significant impact for patients with cancer."

Under the collaboration, the drugmakers aim to develop cancer therapies by combining Amgen's bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) technology with Immatics' XPRESIDENT target discovery and T-cell receptor capabilities. The companies suggested that the approach will improve the ability of immunotherapies to target malignant cells while avoiding healthy tissue. Amgen will hold sole responsibility for the clinical development, manufacturing and global commercialisation of the developed products.

In 2015, Amgen entered into an agreement to use Xencor's XmAb bispecific technology platform to develop treatments for cancer and inflammatory disorders that could be worth as much as $1.7 billion.