Bristol Myers Squibb Partners for Bispecific T-Cell Candidate

Bristol Myers Squibb and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Immatics recently entered into a license, development, and commercialization agreement for the bispecific T-cell candidate, IMA401.

IMA401 is the most advanced product candidate in Immatics’ TCR Bispecifics pipeline, T Cell Engaging Receptors (TCER). In preclinical studies, IMA401 demonstrated anti-tumor activity with complete remission in different in vivo tumor models, including patient-derived xenograft models.

In 2019, Immatics entered a strategic collaboration with Celgene, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb, to develop novel adoptive cell therapies.

The collaboration to develop IMA401 furthers ongoing cell therapy activities, both therapeutic and modalities built on Immatics’ capabilities to identify novel targets and develop high-affinity, target-specific TCRs, a Bristol Myers Squibb spokesperson explained.

“We are pleased to expand our collaboration with Immatics to now include IMA401,” Teri Foy, senior vice president of research and early development of immuno-oncology and cell therapy at Bristol Myers Squibb, said in the announcement.

“We look forward to advancing IMA401 into the clinic to further assess its potential as an innovative medicine to help patients prevail over serious diseases,” Foy continued.

TCER’s are a crucial modality for solid tumors with the potential for cell therapy-like efficacy in an off-the-shelf platform offering potentially broader patient access.

In November 2021, Immatics filed a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) with the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) of Germany to develop IMA401. The clinical trial will enroll patients across various solid tumor types and commence in the first half of 2022.

Under the terms of the recent agreement, Immatics will receive an upfront payment of $150 million and up to $770 million in development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments.

The company will also have the option to co-fund US development in exchange for enhanced US royalty payments and/ or to co-promote IMA401 in the US.

“We are delighted to extend our existing collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb to the IMA401 program and view this as an important validation of the therapeutic potential of our TCER approach,” said Carsten Reinhardt, MD, PhD, chief development officer at Immatics.

“Bristol Myers Squibb’s global clinical development and commercialization capabilities in oncology make them the ideal partner for the further development of IMA401,” Reinhardt continued.