Aduro Biotech, Inc. has announced today the creation of a collaboration with Novartis for the worldwide research, development and commercialization of novel immuno-oncology products. These cancer therapy products are derived from Aduro’s cyclic dinucleotide (CDN) approach to target the STING (Stimulator of Interferon Genes) receptor. According to Aduro research, when these receptors are activated this will initiate broad innate and adaptive tumor-specific immune responses.
Stephen T. Isaacs, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Aduro was interviewed regarding the collaboration and he said “We are extremely pleased to enter into this relationship with Novartis as their strong commitment and spirit of collaboration was evident early in our conversations.” He added “We believe they are an ideal partner not only because of their stature as a premier healthcare company with a major focus in oncology, but also because they demonstrated a keen understanding and appreciation for our novel CDN approach, have synergistic innovation and scientific strengths and of course offer tremendous clinical and commercial expertise which we expect will broaden and accelerate the potential to bring products developed from this novel technology to patients in need.”
The agreement mentions that Novartis will make an upfront payment of $200 million to Aduro and, if all development milestones are complete, Aduro will receive up to an additional aggregate amount of $500 million. Novartis has also made an initial 2.7 percent equity investment in Aduro for $25 million and this includes a commitment for another $25 million investment at a future date.
The collaboration also mentions that Aduro will lead commercialization activities and will promote sales in the United States for any products developed and commercialized as a result of the collaboration. Novartis will lead commercialization activities in all other regions. The companies will share in profits, if any, in the United States, Japan and major European countries. Finally, Novartis will pay Aduro a mid-teens royalty for sales of products from the rest of the world.
Novartis’ Mark C. Fishman, M.D., president of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, commented, “We are delighted to collaborate with Aduro. We believe this target is among the most exciting in oncology today, the drug candidate to be of the highest quality, and the talent of our new colleagues from Aduro to be fantastic. We anticipate many clinical opportunities will be explored with the CDN approach, both directly and in combination with other agents.”
The agreement covers the joint research, development and commercialization of CDN-based therapies in the field of oncology. Aduro shall maintain rights to its CDN technology in all other therapeutic areas, including infectious disease and autoimmunity.
About Aduro Biotech, Inc.
Aduro Biotech, Inc. is a private, clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on the development of technology platforms to stimulate an immune response against cancer. Aduro’s lead platform is based on proprietary strains of live-attenuated, double-deleted (LADD) Listeria monocytogenes that induce a potent innate immune response and have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce tumor-specific T cell-mediated immunity. Aduro has received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the FDA for its lead LADD regimen, CRS-207 in combination with GVAX Pancreas in pancreatic cancer.
About Stephen T. Isaacs
Stephen T. Isaacs is Chairman, President and CEO of Aduro BioTech. Before joining Aduro, Mr. Isaacs was founder (1991), President and CEO of Cerus Corporation, a biomedical products company commercializing the Intercept Blood Systems. Mr. Isaacs has published over 20 peer-reviewed scientific articles and is an inventor on over 40 issued patents. He holds a BA degree in Biochemistry from UC Berkeley, and had graduate training in organic chemistry in the PhD program in the Department of Chemistry at Berkeley.
About Novartis International AG
Novartis International AG is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number one in sales among the world-wide industry in 2013. Novartis manufactures such drugs as clozapine (Clozaril), diclofenac (Voltaren), carbamazepine (Tegretol), valsartan (Diovan) and imatinib mesylate (Gleevec/Glivec). Novartis is a full member of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Novartis International AG stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/nvs
About Mark C. Fishman
Mark Fishman is a noted researcher and clinician in cardiology and the current President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR),[1] the main research arm of Novartis Pharmaceuticals with over 6,700 employees and a 2012 budget of more than $9B.[2]Fishman was appointed President of the newly founded Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in 2002 to implement a new strategy in Novartis’ global drug discovery effort.
