CELG Celgene Corporation

   By Tess Stynes 
 

Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AGIO) will receive an initial payment of $200 million as part of a collaboration deal with Celgene Corp. (CELG) to develop metabolic immunotherapies to treat cancer.

Shares of the Cambridge, Mass.-based Agios rose 2.4% to $52.50 in recent after-hours trading.

Metabolic immunotherapy research focuses on altering the metabolic state of immune cells to enhance the ability of the body's immune system to fight cancer.

"The immune system's ability to attack tumors is highly regulated by cellular metabolism," Celgene Chief Scientific Officer Rob Hershberg said. "This emerging discipline of metabolic immuno-oncology has great potential to provide novel insights and targets for cancer immunotherapy in solid and hematologic malignancies."

Under the collaboration deal, Agios will be eligible to receive as much as $169 million in milestone payments for each metabolic immunotherapy program.

Celgene, based in Summit, N.J., also will have a one-time opportunity to select a metabolic immunotherapy program in which Celgene will have a 65% share of costs and profit, compared with the rest of the programs where expenses and earnings would be split evenly. For the program Celgene chooses, Agios is eligible for as much as $209 million in milestone payments.

For any inflation or autoimmune therapy programs that may result from the collaboration, Agios has an option to enter a licensing agreement. For any such licensed treatments, Agios could potentially receive up to $386 million in milestone payments.

The two biopharmaceutical companies also modified certain rights under a 2010 collaboration deal. Under the modified terms, Agios gains global development and commercial rights to an experimental treatment, known as AG-120, which is being studied as a potential therapy for acute myeloid leukemia.

In addition, two cancer metabolism programs from the 2010 alliance will move ahead under a new research collaboration structure. Agios also will be eligible for any milestone payments for these two programs.

Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 17, 2016 17:39 ET (21:39 GMT)

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