Dutch biopharma Kiadis Pharma’s (Euronext: KDS) shares kick off today, leaping 58% to 2.22 euros by early afternoon, after it announced an exclusive license deal for its previously undisclosed K-NK004 program with French pharma major Sanofi (Euronext; SAN).
The agreement covers Kiadis’ proprietary CD38 knock out (CD38KO) K-NK therapeutic for combination with anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies, including Sarclisa (isatuximab), Sanofi’s recently approved therapy for patients with multiple myeloma. Additionally, Sanofi has obtained exclusive rights to use Kiadis’ K-NK platform for two undisclosed pre-clinical programs.
Terms of the collaboration
As part of the agreement, Kiadis will receive a 17.5 million euros ($19.8 million) upfront payment and will be entitled to receive up to 857.5 million euros on Sanofi’s achievement of pre-clinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones. Kiadis will also receive up to low double-digit royalties based on commercial sales of approved products resulting from this agreement.
Under the terms of this agreement, Sanofi will be responsible for and bear all costs related to the research and development, manufacturing, regulatory and commercial activities related to the licensed K-NK programs. Kiadis has retained exclusive rights to and will supply PM21 particles and select universal donors for Sanofi, paid for by Sanofi.
“We are proud to announce this collaboration with Sanofi, which marks the start of the previously undisclosed K-NK004 program and expands the application of our K-NK platform into multiple myeloma. The agreement with Sanofi – with their world-class expertise and approved anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, Sarclisa, in multiple myeloma and deep understanding of NK-cell biology – is a testament to the ground-breaking potential of our K-NK natural killer cell platform to treat life-threatening diseases,” commented Kiadis chief executive Arthur Lahr.
Sanofi’s head of R&D John Reed added: “The licensing of Kiadis’ CD38KO K-NK cells is particularly exciting for Sanofi since we will be studying this cell-based therapeutic with our recently FDA-approved treatment for patients with difficult-to-treat multiple myeloma, in hopes of bringing even more options to these patients with this hematologic cancer. At Sanofi, we are committed to pioneering treatments that address unmet healthcare challenges. Innovative collaborations, such as this partnership with Kiadis, have the potential to expand the clinical benefits of our medicines by combining them with synergistic partnered therapeutics to deliver improved outcomes for patients.”
