NEW YORK – Jazz Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday said it has entered into a licensing agreement worth up to $1.76 billion for the development and commercialization rights to Zymeworks' zanidatamab.
Under the agreement, Jazz will pay $50 million upfront for exclusive rights to the HER2 bispecific antibody in the US, Europe, Japan, and all other territories except for in the Asia Pacific territories where Zymeworks previously licensed zanidatamab to BeiGene.
Jazz will pay Zymeworks an additional $325 million if it decides to continue the agreement after top-line data are reported from the Phase Ib/II clinical trial of zanidatamab plus ALX Oncology's CD47 inhibitor evorpacept in HER2-expressing cancers. Zymeworks is eligible to receive an additional $525 million in regulatory milestone payments and up to $862.5 million in potential commercial milestone payments.
"Zanidatamab is a novel HER2-targeted bispecific antibody with biparatopic binding and the potential to transform the current standard of care in multiple HER2-expressing cancers," Rob Iannone, global head of R&D at Jazz, said in a statement, adding that this latest deal is in line with the Dublin-headquartered firm's goal to deliver at least five novel treatments to patients by the end of the decade.
Zymeworks, based in Vancouver, is currently studying zanidatamab as a first-line treatment with chemotherapy in HER2-postive gastroesophageal cancers and biliary tract cancers; as a single-agent second-line treatment for biliary tract cancers; in combination with Pfizer's Ibrance (palbociclib) and chemo in late-stage HER2-positive breast cancer; and as a monotherapy and in combination with chemo in HER2-expressing solid tumors.