AstraZeneca (AZ) and Pinetree Therapeutics have entered into an exclusive option and global licence agreement worth more than $500m for a preclinical epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) degrader.
The deal gives AZ an exclusive option to licence Pinetree’s candidate, developed using the biotech’s multi-specific antibody platform AbReptor, for global development and commercialisation.
In exchange, Pinetree will receive upfront and near-term payments of up to $45m and will be eligible for additional development and commercial milestone payments for a total deal value of over $500m, as well as tiered royalties on global net sales.
The drug has already demonstrated “promising preclinical anti-tumour activity in drug- and tyrosine kinase inhibitor-resistant tumours as well as enhanced activity” when used in combination with current EGFR inhibitors, according to Pinetree’s chief executive officer, Hojuhn Song.
“We are excited to announce this option and licence agreement with AZ… to advance one of our novel receptor degrader programmes into the clinic,” Song said.
Targeted protein degradation drugs are designed to reprogramme the body’s cellular machinery to selectively destroy disease-causing proteins, while EGFR is commonly expressed at a high level in a variety of solid tumours.
“Targeted protein degradation is a promising therapeutic modality,” said Puja Sapra, senior vice president, oncology targeted discovery, oncology research and development, AZ. “We are pleased to enter into this agreement with Pinetree for an exclusive option to licence its pan-EGFR degrader for investigation in EGFR-expressing tumours, including those with EGFR mutations.”
AZ’s own EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor Tagrisso (osimertinib) already has broad approvals in EGFR-mutated lung cancer.
The drug was approved by the European Commission earlier this month for use alongside pemetrexed and platinum-based chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for adults with locally advanced EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumours have exon 19 deletions or exon 21 mutations.
Tagrisso is already approved as monotherapy in more than 100 countries, with approved indications including for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic EGFR-mutated NSCLC, locally advanced or metastatic EGFR T790M mutation-positive NSCLC, and for the adjuvant treatment of early-stage EGFR-mutated NSCLC.