GSK has the leading portfolio of antibodies targeting immune-oncology therapies as it agrees to co-develop and commercialize EOS-448 with iTeos.

British firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has agreed to an upfront payment of $625 million to iTeos Therapeutics.

However, the deal could be worth $1.45 billion with potential milestones and royalty payments dependent on the success of EOS-448.

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EOS-448 is an anti-T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains (TIGIT) monoclonal antibody (mAb), which is currently in Phase I development as a possible cancer treatment.

“With this deal, GSK will become the only pharma company with access to antibodies that target all three of the known CD226 ‘checkpoints’ – TIGIT, CD96 and Human poliovirus receptor related immunoglobulin domain (PVRIG),” a spokeswoman for GSK told us.

“The key rationale of this deal for us is that we believe that anti-programmed death cell protein 1s (PD1s), such as Jemperli (dostarlimab), plus combinations of an anti-TIGIT, anti-CD96 and/or anti-PVRIG could become the standard of care backbone therapy for many different cancers.”

The candidate is scheduled to undergo a randomized PD-1 combination study planned in 2022.

GSK said it cannot comment on manufacturing decisions until later in the development process due.

R&D pipeline

According to GSK less than 30 percent of patients respond to treatment currently available for cancer.

However, this deal hopes to develop several therapies of next-generation products to up the success rate.

“The deal also aligns with our R&D approach focusing on the science of the immune system and builds on the more than 20 deals we’ve done since 2020 to strengthen our pharma and vaccines pipeline. We now have 16 oncology assets – including 3 drugs which are already approved for use – and oncology medicines now comprise approximately 25% of our pipeline,” GSK told us.

The collaboration agreement is conditional upon customary conditions and both firms will co-commercialise and share profits in the US.