Leap Therapeutics (LPTX +59.5%) is up on a healthy 44x surge in volume after announcing an exclusive option and license agreement with BeiGene (NASDAQ:BGNE) for the development and commercialization of lead candidate DKN-01 in Asia (excluding Japan), Australia, and New Zealand. Leap will retain exclusive rights to DKN-01 for the rest of the world.
Under the terms of the agreement, Leap will receive $3M upfront and will receive an additional payment if BeiGene exercises its option to develop and commercialize DKN-01. If so, it will be eligible to receive up to $132M in milestones and tiered royalties on net sales.
BeiGene will also make a $5M equity investment in Leap as part a $27M equity deal with two institutional investors.
DKN-01 is a humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody that binds to Dickkopf-1 (DKK1), a protein associated with a poor prognosis in a range of cancers. Specifically, it inhibits a pathway called canonical Wnt/Beta-catenin which plays a key role in embryonic development, cell proliferation and differentiation. The company says patients with confirmed Wnt pathway alterations experience a greater duration of clinical benefit from DKN-01.
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