Oxford: Immunocore and MedImmune enter agreement to develop novel cancer therapies

Immunocore, the Oxford-based biotechnology company developing novel biological drugs to treat cancer and viral disease, has entered into an oncology research collaboration and licensing agreement with MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca.

Under the agreement, both companies will research and develop novel cancer therapies using Immunocore’s Immune Mobilising Monoclonal T-Cell Receptor Against Cancer (ImmTAC) technology.

This platform of biological medicines, or ImmTACs, exploits the power of the body’s own immune system to find and kill diseased cells. ImmTACs direct a patient’s T cells to specifically destroy only the cancerous cells, avoiding damage to healthy cells.

Under the terms of the agreement, Immunocore and MedImmune will work together to generate ImmTACs against selected cancer targets. AstraZeneca and MedImmune will have the right to further develop and commercialise ImmTAC products to add to their immune-mediated cancer therapy portfolio. Immunocore will receive an upfront payment of $20 million per programme and the company is then eligible to receive up to $300m in development and commercial milestone payments for each target programme and significant tiered royalties if the programmes are successful.

“We are delighted to be collaborating with MedImmune, a leader in the development of biotherapeutics with particular strengths in oncology,” said James Noble, Immunocore CEO. “We look forward to working together to develop ImmTAC therapies against cancer targets and address the unmet medical needs of many thousands of cancer patients.”