BARCELONA — Immatics presented more clinical data on its bispecific T cell engager at Europe’s largest cancer conference.
But the German and US biotech is losing its partner on the Phase 1 drug, which became one of the company’s key priorities after a pipeline tuning last year.
Bristol Myers Squibb will return its portion of co-development and commercialization rights on the experimental medicine, dubbed IMA401, in December, Immatics said Monday morning. A Bristol Myers spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company “regularly reviews our portfolio to ensure resources are allocated to programs with the highest potential impact” and decided to end the agreement as part of a “portfolio prioritization.”
Immatics gets to keep the $150 million upfront payment it obtained in the deal, disclosed in December 2021, but the biotech now loses out on the opportunity for up to $770 million in biobucks. Immatics was responsible for running the ongoing Phase 1 and plans to keep testing IMA401, with more data slated for next year, the company said.
The duo is still partnered on other programs, the BMS spokesperson confirmed, including both autologous and allogeneic “adoptive cell therapies.” Bristol Myers is also an investor in the company. Immatics has tie-ups with Moderna and Editas Medicine. It lost a GSK pact in 2022.
“Building on the initial anti-tumor activity observed in heavily pretreated patients with solid tumors, we are delighted to bring this highly promising drug candidate back into our pipeline as a wholly owned asset,” Immatics CEO Harpreet Singh said in a press release. “We see tremendous potential in going after cancers that express MAGEA4 and MAGEA8, complementing our PRAME franchise and strengthening our ability to deliver a meaningful impact on the lives of solid cancer patients.”
Immatics’ so-called bispecific T cell engaging receptor, or TCER, is part of the broader class of T cell engagers. The space has been the subject of some recent deals, an FDA approval and one of the biggest private biotech launches of the year. Immatics has positioned its candidate as an “antibody-like molecule” that redirects and drums up T cells to attack certain cancer cells. The company has said its biologic can potentially spur “any T cell in the body” to attack the desired tumor.