Immatics NV's shares rose Monday after it announced a collaboration with Moderna Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) to pioneer novel and transformative therapies for cancer patients with high unmet medical need.
Under the agreement, the German drug developer will receive an upfront payment of $120 million. It will also receive research funding and is eligible for development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments that could exceed $1.7 billion.
The companies said the research and development collaboration will combine Immatics' TCR platform with Moderna's cutting-edge mRNA technology, and span various therapeutic modalities including bispecifics, cell therapy and cancer vaccines.
“This partnership presents a groundbreaking opportunity to leverage our mRNA technology alongside Immatics' TCR platform, potentially diversifying and augmenting the way we approach cancer treatment,” commented Dr Rose Loughlin, Moderna's senior vice president for research and early development.
“We believe this collaboration will accelerate the development of novel oncology therapies and bring us one step closer to providing significant benefits for patients with high unmet medical needs."
The companies noted that Moderna will lead the clinical development and commercialization of cancer vaccines and TCER therapeutics resulting from the collaboration. Immatics will be responsible for conducting the preclinical studies and a potential Phase 1 clinical trial investigating IMA203 TCR-T in combination with the PRAME mRNA vaccine to further enhance IMA203 T cell responses.
Each party will retain full ownership of its investigational PRAME compound, and the parties will fund the clinical study on a cost-sharing basis.
"The rapid advancement of our first 2 TCER programs into the clinic, with additional TCER compounds fueling our pre-clinical pipeline, underscores our commitment to develop innovative therapeutics,” Immatics chief innovation officer Dr Toni Weinschenk added.
Immatics’ shares were up 2.8% at $12.52 by midday in New York. Moderna’s stock declined 1.9% to $105.67.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com