Ipsen and Marengo Therapeutics have expanded their ongoing oncology research partnership to include Marengo’s T-cell engager (TCE) platform, with the latest deal worth up to $1.2bn.
The companies first partnered in 2022, with the aim of advancing two of Marengo’s preclinical STAR platform-generated candidates.
Marengo announced in August this year that Ipsen had nominated the first candidate and that the companies were planning to advance the programme through investigational new drug-enabling studies into clinical development.
The new agreement centres around Marengo’s TriSTAR platform, which offers the potential to produce candidates able to overcome the effects of poor T cell quality and T cell exhaustion that may limit the activity of traditional TCEs targeting difficult-to-treat ‘cold’ tumours.
The collaboration will include up to two additional assets, with Ipsen assuming responsibility for all activities following development candidate nomination.
In exchange, Marengo will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and will be eligible for up to $1.2bn if all milestones are met, as well as tiered royalties.
David Jenkins, senior vice president, research and external innovation at Ipsen, said: “Through Marengo’s next-generation TriSTAR platform, we have the potential to unlock the power of the immune system, activating a wider pool of T cells to eradicate tumours that traditionally have a weak response to T-cell immunotherapies.”
TriSTAR focuses on redirecting a new and expanded pool of highly activated memory T cells to the tumour.
Marengo’s chief executive officer, Zhen Su, said: “We are excited to build on our existing research collaboration with Ipsen, which has already successfully delivered the first development candidate earlier this year.
“The TriSTAR platform significantly expands our portfolio to target difficult-to-treat ‘cold’ tumours and we are thrilled to partner with the Ipsen oncology team to realise this ambition together.”
The agreement comes less than two months after Ipsen and Skyhawk Therapeutics announced an exclusive worldwide collaboration worth more than $1.8bn to advance RNA-targeting therapies for rare neurological diseases.
Ipsen also recently entered into an agreement worth up to $900m to gain exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialise Sutro Biopharma’s preclinical antibody-drug conjugate-targeting solid tumours.