Agenus Regains AGEN1777 as Bristol Myers Ends $1B Deal

Agenus has received an experimental cancer immunotherapy back from Bristol Myers Squibb, bringing an end to an association that had the potential to be valued at over $1 billion. Agenus disclosed that Bristol Myers had cancelled a licensing agreement the two had signed in 2021 as part of the pharmaceutical company's "strategic realignment" to its R&D initiatives. The restructure will cause the agreement to end on January 26 and involve Agenus' medication, designated AGEN1777, as well as other licensed items.

AGEN1777 is one of several therapeutic candidates targeting the TIGIT protein that have drawn a lot of attention recently because preliminary findings indicate they may enhance the benefits of other cancer immunotherapies. Big businesses including Bristol Myers, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Roche, and Merck & Co. have all either advanced in-house programs or cut deals for TIGIT prospects. However, later-stage results have been less clear, with Roche's TIGIT drug tiragolumab failing multiple late-stage trials and Merck's vibostolimab also struggling.

In 2021, Bristol Myers will pay Agenus $200 million in cash to acquire AGEN1777, therefore decreasing its investment in TIGIT. Since then, the medication has progressed to mid-stage testing in a kind of stomach cancer, and Agenus has been paid further milestones totalling $45 million. The business plans to work with a new partner or continue developing AGEN1777 alone.

Another $1 billion or more in downstream payouts remain unfulfilled as a result of the deal's termination, dealing a financial blow to a firm that has reorganised and lost the majority of its share value in the past year. As part of a larger reorganisation, Bristol Myers is reducing its pipeline in an effort to save the business $1.5 billion by the end of the next year.