By Adria Calatayud

 

British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC and U.S. biotech company iTeos Therapeutics Inc. said Monday that they have reached an agreement to develop and commercialize an immuno-oncology drug in a deal worth up to $2.08 billion.

Under the deal, GSK will pay $625 million upfront to iTeos, with up to an additional $1.45 billion in milestone payments if the drug achieves certain development and commercial goals, the companies said.

GSK and iTeos said they will share responsibility and costs for the global development of the drug and will jointly commercialize and equally split profits in the U.S. Outside of the U.S., the British company will get an exclusive commercialization license and iTeos will receive royalty payments, they said.

The drug, called EOS-448, is a monoclonal antibody currently in phase 1 development as a potential treatment for patients with cancer, the companies said. The drug targets and blocks an immune checkpoint called TIGIT, which is a key inhibitor of anti-tumor responses.

GSK and iTeos said they will explore next-generation immuno-oncology agents through combinations to evaluate their potential to treat different cancers. The companies plan to start with combination studies of EOS-448 with GSK's recently-approved Jemperli, a first-generation immuno-oncology therapy, in 2022.

 

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@dowjones.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 14, 2021 07:14 ET (11:14 GMT)

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