REG - AstraZeneca PLC - AstraZeneca completes KYM agreement for CMG901

AstraZenecaAnnouncement

30/03/2023 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20230330:nRSd6711Ua&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 6711U  AstraZeneca PLC  30 March 2023

30 March 2023 07:00 BST

 

License agreement with KYM Biosciences for CMG901, a Claudin-18.2 antibody
drug conjugate, completed

 

AstraZeneca has completed an exclusive global license agreement
(https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2023/astrazeneca-enters-license-agreement-with-kym-biosciences-for-cmg901-a-claudin-182-antibody-drug-conjugate.html)
with KYM Biosciences Inc.(i) for CMG901, a potential first-in-class antibody
drug conjugate (ADC) targeting Claudin 18.2, a promising therapeutic target in
gastric cancers.

 

CMG901 is currently being evaluated in a Phase I trial for the treatment of
Claudin 18.2-positive solid tumours, including gastric cancer. Preliminary
results from the trial have shown an encouraging profile for CMG901, with
early signs of anti-tumour activity across the dose levels tested.

 

Financial considerations

AstraZeneca has entered into an exclusive global license for the research,
development, manufacture and commercialisation of CMG901 for an upfront
payment of $63m, with potential development and sales-related milestone
payments of up to $1.1bn and tiered royalties up to low double digits.

 

The transaction does not impact AstraZeneca's financial guidance for 2023.

 

i. KYM Biosciences is a joint venture established by affiliates of Keymed
Biosciences and Lepu Biopharma.

 

Notes

 

CMG901

CMG901 is a novel antibody drug conjugate targeting Claudin 18.2, and consists
of an anti-Claudin 18.2 monoclonal antibody, a protease-degradable linker, and
a cytotoxic small molecule monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE). CMG901 is being
developed for the treatment of solid tumours that express the cell surface
protein Claudin 18.2, including gastric cancers. CMG901 is owned by KYM
Biosciences Inc. (KYM), a joint venture established by affiliates of Keymed
Biosciences (70% of KYM ownership) and Lepu Biopharma (30% of KYM ownership).

 

AstraZeneca in gastrointestinal cancers

AstraZeneca has a broad development programme for the treatment of
gastrointestinal (GI) cancers across several medicines and a variety of tumour
types and stages of disease. In 2020, GI cancers collectively represented
approximately 5.1 million new cancer cases leading to approximately 3.6
million deaths.(1)

 

Within this programme, the Company is committed to improving outcomes in
gastric, liver, biliary tract, oesophageal, pancreatic and colorectal cancers.

 

Imfinzi (durvalumab) is approved in the US in combination with chemotherapy
(gemcitabine plus cisplatin) for advanced biliary tract cancer and in
combination with Imjudo in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. Imfinzi is
being assessed in combinations, including with Imjudo in liver,
oesophageal and gastric cancers in an extensive development programme
spanning early to late-stage disease across settings.

 

Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan), a HER2-directed antibody drug conjugate, is
approved in HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer and is being assessed in
colorectal cancer. Enhertu is jointly developed and commercialised by
AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo.

 

Lynparza (olaparib), a first-in-class PARP inhibitor, is approved in
BRCA-mutated metastatic pancreatic cancer. Lynparza is developed and
commercialised in collaboration with MSD (Merck & Co., Inc. inside the US
and Canada).

 

AstraZeneca in oncology

AstraZeneca is leading a revolution in oncology with the ambition to provide
cures for cancer in every form, following the science to understand cancer and
all its complexities to discover, develop and deliver life-changing medicines
to patients.

 

The Company's focus is on some of the most challenging cancers. It is through
persistent innovation that AstraZeneca has built one of the most diverse
portfolios and pipelines in the industry, with the potential to catalyse
changes in the practice of medicine and transform the patient experience.

 

AstraZeneca has the vision to redefine cancer care and, one day, eliminate
cancer as a cause of death.

 

AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical
company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialisation of
prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases, and BioPharmaceuticals,
including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory &
Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries
and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide.
Please visit astrazeneca.com (http://www.astrazeneca.com/)  and follow the
Company on Twitter @AstraZeneca (https://twitter.com/AstraZeneca) .

 

Contacts

For details on how to contact the Investor Relations Team, please click here
(https://www.astrazeneca.com/investor-relations.html#Contacts) . For Media
contacts, click here (https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/contacts.html)
.

 

References

1. World Health Organization. World Cancer Fact Sheet. Available at:
https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/populations/900-world-fact-sheets.pdf
(https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/populations/900-world-fact-sheets.pdf)
. Accessed March 2023.

 

Adrian Kemp

Company Secretary

AstraZeneca PLC

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  AGRNKCBQPBKDONB