Bristol-Myers Squibb agrees oncology pact

Bristol-Myers Squibb has agreed a new immu-oncology partnership with Five Prime Therapeutics, which could be worth several hundred millions of dollars.

As part of the new arrangement, the two companies will work in partnership towards achieving immune checkpoint pathway targets identified using Five Prime's existing platform. 

The deal has seen Bristol-Myers Squibb pay $20 million (12.04 million pounds) upfront and pledge to provide a further $9.5 million in research funding. Furthermore, the US pharmaceutical heavyweight has purchased a 4.9 percent stake in Five Prime for $21 million – representing a 30 percent premium on the startup's share price.

Milestone payments could reach $300 million, while the firm will also receive tiered royalty payments. 

Francis Cuss, chief scientific officer at Bristol-Myers Squibb, said the deal "has the potential to be transformational in the treatment of cancer".

To date, Five Prime has received more than $220 million from collaborations with pharmaceutical companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim.