NEW YORK – Ipsen and Foreseen Biotechnology last week inked an exclusive global licensing agreement to develop the antibody-drug conjugate FS001 as a treatment for patients with a range of solid tumor types.
FS001 is designed to target an undisclosed novel tumor-associated antigen linked to tumor proliferation and metastasis in several solid tumor types. Although the firms don't initially plan to determine patients' clinical trial eligibility based on their expression levels of the undisclosed target, they do plan to evaluate patient samples retrospectively. By correlating expression levels with treatment efficacy, they hope to better understand their target.
Under the terms of the agreement, Foreseen is eligible to receive up to $1.03 billion, which would include an upfront payment as well as payments for development, regulatory, and commercial milestones and tiered royalties on global sales in the event FS001 is approved. Ipsen, for its part, will conduct FS001's clinical trials and take the helm on global commercialization rights and responsibilities.
According to Paris-based Ipsen and Taiwan-based Foreseen, the antibody-drug conjugate has demonstrated encouraging preclinical efficacy across several drug-resistant cancer models. Foreseen identified FS001's novel target using its proteomic platforms.