BMS Wins Agenus’ anti-TIGIT Asset to Bolster I-O Pipeline

Bristol Myers Squibb’s pioneering record and innovative capabilities in immuno-oncology (I-O) is well known in the industry. Its oncology drug portfolio is larger than that of J&J, Merck and Pfizer and is second only to Roche.

On May 18th, the company announced buying an anti-TIGIT (T-cell immunoreceptor with immunoglobulin and ITIM domain) bispecific antibody asset from Lexington-MA-based Agenus Inc. to compete with Roche’s anti-TIGIT tiragolumab plus Tecentriq combo.

Agenus is a clinical-stage I-O company focused on the discovery and development of therapies that engage the body’s immune system to fight against cancer. It specializes in numerous antibody therapeutics, adoptive cell therapies (through its AgenTus Therapeutics subsidiary), and proprietary cancer vaccine platforms. It owns a suite of antibody discovery platforms and state-of-the-art GMP manufacturing facilities to support its clinical programs.

“We are pleased to partner with Bristol Myers Squibb to develop and commercialize AGEN-1777. Their stellar record of success in this area has been an important determinant for our decision to enter into this transaction,” said Garo Armen, PhD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Agenus. “Through such transactions we are able to balance between advancing our portfolio with highly qualified collaborators, while retaining our other innovations for speedy development and commercialization by Agenus.”

AGEN-1777 – An Improved Bispecific anti-TIGIT Antibody

AGEN-1777 is a potential first-in-class bispecific anti-TIGIT antibody engineered with an enhanced Fc region for high binding affinity. It is designed to target major inhibitory receptors expressed on T and NK cells, which facilitated improved activation of these immune cells. AGEN-1777 showed promising results in tumor models where anti-PD-1 or TIGIT-focused monospecific antibodies alone have proved ineffective.

In order to overcome the tumor drug resistance observed against I-O drugs like Opdivo, BMS plans to combine Agenus’s AGEN-1777 with its own TIGIT candidate BMS-986207 for improved efficacy.

Under the agreement, BMS will be granted a global exclusive license for the development and total commercialization of AGEN-1777. In return, Agenus will receive a $200 million upfront payment and up to $1.36 billion in milestone payments. An IND for the candidate is expected to be filed in this quarter.

“AGEN-1777’s differentiated mechanism of action provides the potential for potent anti-tumor activity; catalyzing our clinical TIGIT strategy aimed at serving more patients with unmet needs in cancer,” said Debbie Law, D.Phil., Senior Vice President, Head of Tumor Microenvironment Thematic Research Center, Bristol Myers Squibb. “We look forward to working with Agenus to develop this important therapy as we continue to combat I-O resistance.”

Fierce Competitions Over TIGIT Assets

TIGIT is one of the newly emerging immuno-oncology targets, demonstrating promise for cancer immunotherapy. Although Agenus has the lead over other pharma giants, a Merck and Roche collaboration as well as Gilead Sciences are both advancing their own TIGIT pipeline. Last year, Gilead invested $2 billion in Arcus Biosciences in its midstage hopeful AB154, an anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody.

By Judy Ya-Hsuan Lin

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Judy Ya-Hsuan Lin

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.