On Tuesday, Immunogen (IMGN) announced that it had inked a partnership deal with Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ). This partnership will allow Jazz to help develop Immunogen's anti-body drug conjugates. The first target in question will be patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). That would mean a total of two blood cancer targets, and one other program which has yet to be revealed. In my opinion, this is the type of boost that Immunogen needed. That's because it has a pipeline full of drugs, many of which are already partnered out. I feel that this new partnership validates the company's technology.
The Deal
According to the agreement Immunogen will receive an upfront payment from Jazz totaling $75 million. That involves two blood cancer targets, and one product that will be determined later on. The two blood cancer drugs are IMGN779, and IMGN632. Jazz is also expected to fork over $100 million over a seven year period to help fund these three products. The next catalysts would come when Jazz chooses to opt-in on one of the products. It can choose to opt-in before a BLA filing, or it can wait until the candidates are up for FDA approval. In either case, once Jazz opts-in Immunogen can eventually start to earn royalties. Depending upon the opt-in time, the royalty tops out at 20% of the marketed products.
