This agreement will strengthen the balance sheet and streamline resources to advance a robust pipeline of first-in-class and best-in-class drug candidates and expand the product portfolio through strategic transactions and internal drug discovery efforts.
Everest Medicines (“Everest”, or the “Company”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercialising transformative pharmaceutical products to address critical unmet needs in Asia Pacific markets, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Immunomedics, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gilead Sciences, Inc., whereby Immunomedics will obtain exclusive rights to develop and commercialise Trodelvy® (sacituzumab govitecan) in Greater China, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Mongolia (the “Agreement”).
Under the terms of the Agreement, Everest will receive up to $455 million in total considerations with $280 million in upfront payments payable subject to, among other things, certain regulatory approvals, and up to $175 million in potential future milestone payments. In addition, Everest will be released from payment obligations for up to $710 million in remaining milestone payments under a licensing agreement entered into with Immunomedics in April 2019 to develop, register, and commercialise Trodelvy® in Greater China, South Korea, and certain other countries and territories. Under the Agreement, the licensing agreement will be terminated.
Everest received approval in mainland China and Singapore in June and January 2022, respectively, for Trodelvy® in adult patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who have received two or more prior systemic therapies, at least one of them for metastatic disease. Everest has also submitted applications for commercial approval for Trodelvy in metastatic TNBC with regulatory bodies in South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
“We welcome the opportunity to restructure our partnership with Gilead, which has been built on a shared vision of providing innovative oncology solutions for patients in need. With capital resources and a track record of successful therapeutic development and commercialisation for Trodelvy in the United States, Gilead is an ideal partner to further develop and commercialise Trodelvy in Asia Pacific regions to maximise patient access,” said Kerry Blanchard, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Everest Medicines. “I am exceedingly proud of what Everest has accomplished in advancing Trodelvy in China and other Asia territories, and we will continue to bring more transformational therapies to patients in China and worldwide with our extensive pipeline of clinical and pre-clinical stage assets.”
“Trodelvy is approved for second-line metastatic TNBC in over 35 countries. We thank Everest Medicines for their partnership and important contributions [to] the development of Trodelvy in Asia. Their collaboration has brought us closer to bringing Trodelvy to patients who need alternative options,” said Bill Grossman, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President, Oncology Clinical Research, Gilead Sciences. “Trodelvy is the cornerstone of our solid tumour portfolio, and we are committed to bringing this transformative therapy to as many patients as possible. We look forward to rapidly advancing our development programme in Asia and to realising the clinical potential of Trodelvy across diverse tumour types.”
“After the completion of this transaction, Everest’s resources will be more streamlined to invest in the ongoing development of our remaining pipeline of clinical-stage drug candidates with first-in-class or best-in-class potential. We will have a stronger balance sheet to advance our internal drug discovery efforts and execute synergistic strategic transactions,” said Ian Woo, President and Chief Financial Officer of Everest Medicines. “We will strive to deliver sustained value to our shareholders and to patients in Asia and worldwide.”
Gilead will have the opportunity to recruit Everest employees working directly on the Trodelvy programme.
Goldman Sachs served as financial advisor to Everest Medicines while Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel to the Company. [APBN]
Source: Everest Medicines