AstraZeneca, KYM sign licensing deal on gastric cancer treatment

AstraZeneca and KYM Biosciences have agreed a global exclusive licence agreement for a potential gastric cancer treatment known as CMG901.

AstraZeneca will make an upfront payment of $63m and additional development and sales-related milestone payments of up to $1.1bn to KYM Biosciences as well as tiered royalties up to low double digits, it said on Thursday.

Under the licence agreement, AstraZeneca will be responsible for the research, development, manufacture and commercialisation of CMG901 globally.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances. The transaction does not impact AstraZeneca's financial guidance for 2023, the company said.

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

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com