By Tess Stynes
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. agreed to acquire privately-held
biotechnology company Flexus in a deal potentially valued at up to
$1.25 billion that gives Bristol access to a pipeline of
investigational immunotherapy treatments.
Bristol-Myers Chief Scientific Officer Francis Cuss said the
acquisition of Flexus will expand the company's pipeline with an
important approach to enhancing immune responses in cancer.
Bristol was an early mover into immunotherapies--drugs that work
by unleashing the body's immune system to fight cancer--starting
with its $2.4 billion purchase of Medarex and then winning approval
in 2011 of skin-cancer immunotherapy Yervoy.
Under the deal, expected to close during the current quarter,
Flexus will receive $800 million upfront and a potential $450
million in milestone payments.
Bristol-Myers will gain rights to Flexus's lead investigational
immunotherapy drug candidate F001287, which is targeted for an
investigational new drug application during the second half of this
year. Bristol also gains rights to several of Flexus's other
IDO/TDO inhibitor programs.
A spinoff established by current Flexus shareholders will retain
other assets, such as its Phase 1 FLT3 and CDK4/6 inhibitor, its
Treg cancer immunotherapy programs, and its current personnel and
facilities.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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