Xoma and Novartis restructure agreement
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Xoma and Novartis have restructured their agreement involving six development programmes. Novartis will pay Xoma $6.2 million up front, fund all future R&D related to the six programmes, and reduce Xoma's existing debt by $7.5 million. It will pay Xoma up to $14 million in milestones and double-digit royalty rates in exchange for control of HCD122, a human monoclonal antibody that targets CD40, and one other programme. HCD122 is currently in Phase Ib/IIa trials for the treatment of lymphoma and a Phase I trial for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Novartis gains the right to expand the development of these two programmes into additional indications outside oncology. The restructuring of the deal will allow Xoma to focus on proprietary projects such as Xoma 052, an anti-inflammatory drug candidate for the treatment of multiple diseases, it says.
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