Bristol-Myers, Five Prime Announce Agreement For CSF1R Antibody Program

(RTTNews) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) and Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. (FPRX) announced they have entered into an exclusive worldwide license and collaboration agreement for the development and commercialization of Five Prime's colony stimulating factor 1 receptor antibody program, including FPA008 which is in Phase 1 development for immunology and oncology indications.

Bristol-Myers Squibb will make an upfront payment of $350 million to Five Prime. In addition, Five Prime will be eligible to receive up to $1.05 billion in development and regulatory milestone payments per anti-CSF1R product for oncology indications, and up to $340 million in development and regulatory milestone payments per anti-CSF1R product for non-oncology indications.

Bristol-Myers Squibb will be responsible for development and manufacturing of FPA008 for all indications, subject to Five Prime's option to conduct, at its own cost, certain future studies including registrational studies to support approval of FPA008 in pigmented villonodular synovitis and FPA008 in combination with Five Prime's internal pipeline assets in immuno-oncology.

The agreement replaces the companies' existing clinical collaboration agreement to evaluate the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of combining Opdivo (nivolumab), Bristol-Myers Squibb's PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, with FPA008 in six tumor types.