Affimed and Roivant Sciences Announce Licensing and Strategic Collaboration Agreement to Develop and Commercialize Novel Inna...
November 09 2020 - 04:01PM
- Affimed to grant license to AFM32 with options for additional
ICE® molecules directed against targets not included in Affimed’s
current pipeline
- Affimed to receive $60 million in upfront consideration and up
to an additional $2 billion in future milestones
- Affimed to be responsible for all preclinical work through IND
filing
HEIDELBERG, Germany; BASEL, Switzerland; and NEW YORK,
November 9, 2020 – Affimed N.V. (Nasdaq: AFMD),
a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company committed to giving
patients back their innate ability to fight cancer, and Roivant
Sciences, a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced that
they have entered into a licensing and strategic collaboration
agreement to develop and commercialize novel ICE® molecules in
oncology.
The collaboration grants Roivant a license to the preclinical
molecule AFM32. The collaboration will also leverage Affimed’s
proprietary Redirected Optimized Cell Killing (ROCK®) platform to
generate ICE® molecules against targets not included in Affimed’s
current pipeline.
Under the terms of the agreement, Affimed will receive $60
million in upfront consideration, comprised of $40 million in cash
and pre-paid R&D funding, and $20 million of newly issued
shares in Roivant. Affimed could receive further short-term
proceeds in the form of option fees contingent on the commencement
of additional programs contemplated under the agreement. The
company is eligible to receive up to an additional $2 billion in
milestones over time upon achievement of specified development,
regulatory and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties
on net sales.
Pursuant to the agreement, Affimed will be primarily responsible
for driving the discovery and research phases of molecule
development through filing of the IND. Roivant will be responsible
for clinical development and commercialization worldwide, and
Affimed retains an option for co-promotion.
“This partnership represents an important milestone as it
further validates our platform and scientific expertise in the
selection of promising targets to develop ICE® molecules in
oncology indications where patients are underserved by existing
therapies,” said Dr. Adi Hoess, Affimed’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Partnering with Roivant, an innovative trailblazer in
biopharmaceutical development, is another step towards accelerating
the growth of our current and future pipeline.”
“We are extremely pleased to have entered into this agreement
with Affimed given their leadership position in the science of
innate immunity and extensive expertise in the preclinical
development of bispecifics,” commented Dr. Roger Sidhu, Chief
Medical Officer and Head of R&D at Roivant. “We look forward to
working together to deliver meaningful therapies to patients.”
About the ROCK® Platform
Affimed’s proprietary, fit-for-purpose ROCK® platform technology
generates diverse, tetravalent, bispecific antibodies known as
innate cell engagers (ICE®) which can be customized to target
specific binding domains on hematologic and solid tumor cells.
Affimed’s ROCK® -generated ICE® use a distinct, dual mechanism of
action that activates CD16A on natural killer cells and macrophages
and binds to specific antigens on tumor cells, restoring the body’s
innate ability to overcome tumor invasion and destroy tumor
cells.
About Affimed N.V.
Affimed (Nasdaq: AFMD) is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology
company committed to giving patients back their innate ability to
fight cancer. Affimed’s fit-for-purpose ROCK® platform allows
innate cell engagers to be designed for specific patient
populations. The company is developing single and combination
therapies to treat hematologic and solid tumors. The company is
currently enrolling patients into a registration-directed study of
AFM13 for CD30-positive relapsed/refractory peripheral T cell
lymphoma and into a Phase 1/2a dose escalation/expansion study of
AFM24 for the treatment of advanced EGFR-expressing solid tumors.
For more information, please visit www.affimed.com.
About Roivant Sciences
Roivant’s mission is to improve the delivery of healthcare to
patients by treating every inefficiency as an opportunity. Roivant
develops transformative medicines faster by building technologies
and developing talent in creative ways, leveraging the Roivant
platform to launch Vants – nimble and focused biopharmaceutical and
health technology companies. For more information, please visit
www.roivant.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All
statements other than statements of historical fact are
forward-looking statements, which are often indicated by terms such
as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,”
“intend,” “look forward to,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,”
“project,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places throughout
this release and include statements regarding our intentions,
beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses and current expectations
concerning, among other things, the potential of AFM32, the value
of our ROCK® platform, our ongoing and planned preclinical
development and clinical trials, our collaborations and development
of our products in combination with other therapies, the timing of
and our ability to make regulatory filings and obtain and maintain
regulatory approvals for our product candidates, our intellectual
property position, our collaboration activities, our ability to
develop commercial functions, clinical trial data, our results of
operations, cash needs, financial condition, liquidity, prospects,
future transactions, growth and strategies, the industry in which
we operate, the trends that may affect the industry or us, impacts
of the COVID-19 pandemic, the benefits to Affimed of orphan drug
designation and the risks, uncertainties and other factors
described under the heading “Risk Factors” in Affimed’s filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Given these risks,
uncertainties and other factors, you should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, and we assume no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new
information becomes available in the future.
Affimed Contact
Alex Fudukidis Head of Investor Relations Email:
a.fudukidis@affimed.com Tel.: +1 (917) 436-8102
Roivant Contact
Paul DavisEmail: paul.davis@roivant.comTel.: +1 (646)
495-5310
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