- Under its May 2016 master research and collaboration agreement with Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO), Celgene designates a product candidate focused on MTAP (methylthioadenosine phosphate)-deleted cancers.
- Under the terms of the agreement, Agios will receive an $8M designation fee and up to $169M in clinical and regulatory milestones. Agios will lead exploratory research, drug discovery and early development. Celgene will have an opt-in right ($30M minimum payment) through Phase 1 dose escalation.
- This is the fourth development candidate selected by Celgene since the start of the companies' research collaboration in 2010.
-
MTAP-deletions are present in ~15% of all cancers. Agios discovered a novel pathway in MTAP-deleted tumors that, when inhibited, shows robust anti-tumor activity in animal models.