Numab Therapeutics AG (“Numab”) and Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Ono”) today announced a global research, development and commercialization collaboration for NM49, a multi-specific antibody designed to activate tumor associated macrophage phagocytosis for the treatment of cancers and identified through Numab’s proprietary discovery and engineering technology platform.
Under the terms of the agreement, Ono has obtained an option to in-license NM49 from Numab for global development and commercialization, with Numab retaining an option to co-develop and commercialize in the United States. The option can be exercised prior to the start of a Phase 3 clinical trial and, if exercised, Numab will be eligible for co-promotion and a 50/50 profit split arrangement in the United States. Numab will be responsible for conducting preclinical studies and CMC activities with Ono covering the related expenses and being responsible for development and associated costs if the program enters clinical development. Numab will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and is eligible for additional payments based upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales milestones as well as tiered royalties on net sales.
“This important partnership marks our third collaboration with Ono and the first one where Numab has the option to co-develop and commercialize in the United States. We are thrilled to continue working with Ono on developing new high impact multi-specific therapeutics for cancer patients,” said David Urech, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Numab Therapeutics. “The collaboration will further expand Numab’s product pipeline and improve the productivity of our R&D activities.”
“We are very pleased to strengthen the partnership with Numab through the development and commercialization of NM49 generated through Numab’s unique multi-specific antibody platform,” said Toichi Takino, Senior Executive Officer / Executive Director, Discovery & Research of Ono. “We are committed to the development and commercialization of NM49 to deliver it as a new therapeutic option to patients as soon as possible by maximally utilizing Ono’s deep immuno-oncology expertise.”
