Zydus Cadila inks licensing pact with XOMA Corp to develop cancer treatment molecule

Drug firm Zydus Cadila on Monday said it has inked a licensing agreement with Nasdaq listed XOMA Corporation to develop an immuno-oncology (IO) drug candidate.

As part of the agreement, Zydus will advance the new IO candidate through formal clinical trials, the company said in a statement.

Zydus has been granted exclusive rights to develop and commercialise the therapy in India, Brazil, Mexico and other emerging markets, and XOMA has the potential to receive single-to-double digit royalties on commercial sales in those territories, it added.

Besides, XOMA retains rights in all other territories, Zydus Cadila said.

Through this collaboration, Zydus will develop the new IO drug candidate through human proof-of-concept and each company has the potential to receive pre-defined shares of future proceeds that may arise from licensing and commercialisation activities, according to the statement.

"IL-2 will be the backbone of IO-based therapies for cancer treatment in the future. In this win-win agreement, we see a great strategic fit between our IL-2 and XOMA's anti-IL-2 monoclonal antibody as together they have the potential to provide a safe and efficacious medicine to address the unmet needs of patients living with cancer," Zydus group Managing Director Sharvil Patel said.

XOMA Chief Executive Officer Jim Neal said IL-2 has long been recognised as an effective anti-tumor agent, but its utility has been limited by its toxicity.

"XOMA has developed unique, fully human antibodies that promote IL-2 action specifically to the cytotoxic effector immune cell populations relevant for anti-tumor activity while simultaneously limiting the unwanted stimulation of immunosuppressive T cells, thereby minimising its undesired side effects," he added.

This IL-2 and monoclonal antibody combination has the potential to turn the immune system against the cancer cells, and Zydus is an ideal partner to advance this combination through clinical development, Neal said.