Xencor (XNCR) Inks Deal With J&J for B-Cell Malignancy Treatment
Xencor, Inc. XNCR announced that it is collaborating with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the wholly-owned subsidiary of J&J JNJ, for the development and commercialization of plamotamab and XmAb CD28 bispecific antibody combinations to treat patients with B-cell malignancies.
Per the agreement terms, Xencor will receive $100 million as upfront payment and $25 million as equity. The company will further be eligible to receive potential milestone payments up to $1.188 billion and royalties on net product sales.
As part of the deal, Janssen will acquire exclusive global development and commercialization rights for plamotamab, either as a monotherapy or in combination.
The company will use proprietary XmAb technology to create XmAb CD28 bispecific antibody candidates against B-cell targets. Janssen will also have exclusive license to develop select antibodies in combination with plamotamab and other drugs.
The collaboration deal is expected to close in fourth-quarter 2021.
Shares of Xencor gained 5.5% following the above-mentioned news. Yet, the stock has declined 18.6% so far this year in comparison with the industry’s 15.5% decline.
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Both Xencor and Janssen will share future clinical study costs in the ratio of 20:80, including costs for the clinical study evaluating plamotamab’s subcutaneous formulation, which is projected to begin in 2022.
Xencor will continue to self-finance the clinical study evaluating the combination of plamotamab with Incyte INCY/MorphoSys’ Monjuvi (tafasitamab) and Bristol-Myers’ BMY Revlimid (lenalidomide) in a phase II study in relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma expected to begin by end-2021 or early-2022.
Plamotamab is an XmAb bispecific antibody containing both aCD20 binding domain and a CD3 binding domain. It is currently being evaluated in a phase I study to treat patients with CD20-expressing hematologic malignancies including non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
We remind investors that this is the second agreement entered by the company with Janssen. Xencor previously entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Janssen in December 2020 to develop novel CD28 bispecific antibodies for the treatment of prostate cancer.
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Xencor currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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