ImmunoGen Grants Lilly Exclusive Research, Development, and Commercialization License in $1.7+ Billion ADC Deal

ImmunoGen, a US-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for treating cancer, announced on Feb. 15, 2022 that it has entered into a global, multi-year definitive licensing agreement with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) that grants Lilly exclusive rights to research, develop, and commercialize ADCs directed to targets selected by Lilly based on ImmunoGen's camptothecin technology. The deal is potentially worth more than $1.7 billion.

Under the agreement, Lilly will pay ImmunoGen $13 million upfront for initial targets selected by Lilly. Lilly may also select a pre-specified number of additional targets under which ImmunoGen will be eligible to receive an additional $32.5 million in exercise fees if Lilly licenses the full number of targets. ImmunoGen is also eligible to receive up to $1.7 billion in potential target-program exercise fees and milestone payments dependent on certain pre-specified development, regulatory, and commercial milestones. ImmunoGen will be further eligible to receive tiered royalties as a percentage of worldwide commercial sales by Lilly. Lilly, meanwhile, is responsible for all costs associated with research and development. ImmunoGen will retain full rights to the camptothecin platform for all targets not covered by the Lilly license.

Camptothecins are a class of anticancer drugs targeting Type I topoisomerase. ImmunoGen's proprietary class of camptothecin linker-payloads are designed to optimize existing camptothecin technology, which allows for the potential delivery of a wider therapeutic window with enhanced safety and efficacy.

"Lilly has a proven track record of bringing transformative oncology medicines to market, and we are pleased that they selected our novel camptothecin technology to integrate with their efforts to develop next-generation ADCs," said Stacy Coen, ImmunoGen's senior vice-president and chief business officer, in a company press release. "This licensing agreement demonstrates ImmunoGen's continued innovation in ADCs, creates value from our intellectual property around a proprietary platform, and further enhances our ability to re-invest in our business as we build out our pipeline and accelerate our transformation into a fully-integrated oncology company."

Source: ImmunoGen