Immunocore wins research deal with AstraZeneca
9 Jan 2014
AstraZeneca’s biologics R&D arm, MedImmune, has been selected to enter into an oncology research collaboration and licensing agreement with Immunocore.
Both companies will work together to develop novel cancer therapies using Immunocore’s Immune Mobilising Monoclonal T-Cell Receptor Against Cancer (ImmTAC) technology.
ImmTACs are designed to exploit the body’s own immune system to find and kill diseased cells and direct a patient’s T cells to specifically destroy only the cancerous cells, avoiding damage to healthy cells.
Immunocore chief executive officer James Noble said: “We look forward to working together to develop ImmTAC therapies against cancer targets and address the unmet medical needs of many thousands of cancer patients.”
Under terms of the agreement, Immunocore will receive an initial payment of around £12 million ($20m) per programme, and it will be eligible for a further £182 million ($300m) in development and commercial milestone payments for each target programme, dependent on progress.
Yesterday’s deal is the third Immunocore has struck in the last six months, having previously collaborated with Genetech and GlaxoSmithKline respectively.
