Medigene in for up to $1.5 bln under broader pact with Bluebird Bio (updated)

Medigene AG

14/05/2018 08:49

* Pact on T-cell receptors widened from 4 to 6 programmes
    * Up to $250 mln in milestone payments per programme
    * Shares up 8 pct

 (Adds shares, background on technology, analyst comment)
    By Ludwig Burger
    FRANKFURT, May 14 (Reuters) - German biotech firm Medigene
has secured a wider remit under a collaboration with U.S. peer
Bluebird Bio  BLUE.O  on a technology that boosts the immune
response to cancer, increasing the pool of potential milestone
payments to $1.5 billion.
    The number of projects in the alliance, which has Medigene
contributing screening tools to identify promising T-cell
receptors (TCR), will rise from four to six, Medigene said in a
statement on Monday, sending its shares 8 percent higher.
    "If successfully developed and marketed through several
indications and markets, Medigene could receive up to $250
million in milestone payments per TCR program in addition to
tiered royalty payments on net sales up to a double-digit
percentage," Medigene said.
    Medigene agreed its alliance with Bluebird in September
2016, working on modified T cells, one of the immune system's
main weapons, to better target specific tumour cells. 
    The extended collaboration contract validates Medigene's
technology platform, analysts at Baader Helvea said, confirming
their "buy" recommendation. 
    Bluebird is best known for its progress in a class of
customised cancer drugs known as chimeric antigen receptor
T-cells, or CAR-Ts.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1PK4D4
    Other companies working on T cell receptor (TCR)
technologies include GlaxoSmithKline  GSK.L , Britain's
Immunocore, which is backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, or U.S. biotech group ImmunoCellular  IMUC.A  .
    As part of the broadened contract, Medigene will receive an
additional one-time payment of $8 million plus increased
research and development funding.    

 (Reporting by Ludwig Burger
Editing by John Stonestreet and Maria Sheahan)
 ((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1311; Reuters
Messaging: ludwig.burger.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))