With Iteos, Glaxo pays handsomely to join the Tigit chase

 That Glaxosmithkline was prepared to part with $650m up front for Iteos’s phase 1 anti-Tigit MAb EOS-448 shows that the pharma giant considers this a ‘must own’ immuno-oncology mechanism. The terms point to a highly competitive process, which also means that there must be other large developers shopping in this space. The big three I-O players already have assets in their pipelines, but there are plenty of others, like Astrazeneca and Pfizer, which would presumably be interested. That is great for news for those unencumbered projects – it is no coincidence that Mereo shares opened up 15% today, a surge that soon settled down to a 5% rise. Still, while the Glaxo-Iteos deal sounds rich, it is worth remembering that the small biotech has agreed to pay 40% of the R&D costs associated with an “aggressive” pre-agreed global development plan; in return, Iteos will jointly commercialise EOS-448 in the US and get 50% of the profits from the region. A further $550m is available if certain clinical and regulatory hurdles are crossed, with another $900m attached to sales milestones. The tiny Belgian developer has long been a proponent of Tigit and this deal certainly justifies its enthusiasm – Iteos shares surged 30% in early trade.

Chasing Tigit: few unencumbered assets remain
Available to the highest bidder?
Project	Company	Project source and status
Available to the highest bidder?
Ociperlimab	Beigene	In-house; wholly owned, in ph3
Etigilimab	Mereo	Oncomed originated; Celgene turned down option in July 2019, now wholly owned, in ph1/2
IBI939	Innovent	In-house; wholly owned, in ph1
SGN-TGT	Seagen	In-house; wholly owned, in ph1
COM902	Compugen	In-house; wholly owned, in ph1
AGEN1327	Agenus	In-house; wholly owned, preclinical
Already wrapped up…
Tiragolumab	Roche	In-house; wholly owned, in ph3
Vibostolimab	Merck & Co	In-house; wholly owned, in ph3
Domvanalimab	Arcus	Gilead option; data and decision due soon. Otsuka owns certain Asia rights, in ph2/3
BMS-986207	Bristol Myers Squibb	In-house; Ono owns certain Asian rights, in ph1/2
M6223	Merck KGaA	In-house; wholly owned, in ph1
EOS-448	Iteos	Licensed to Glaxo in June 2021 deal, in ph1
AGEN1777 (bispecific)	Agenus/Bristol Myers Squibb	Licensed to Bristol Myers in May 2021, preclinical
AB308	Arcus	Gilead has an option under a 2020 deal, in ph1
Source: Evaluate Pharma & company presentations.   https://www.evaluate.com/vantage/articles/news/snippets/glaxo-pays-handsomely-join-tigit-chase