Pathos AI to license experimental breast cancer drug from China’s Jiangsu Alphamab Biopharmaceutical

Aug 4 (Reuters) – New York City-based Pathos AI will pay $125 million upfront to a subsidiary of Alphamab Oncology for rights to an experimental drug for a type of breast cancer, the Chinese oncology specialist said Tuesday, as it competes with bigger rivals.

Triple-negative breast cancer, or TNBC, is an aggressive type of invasive breast cancer that tends to grow and spread faster and has fewer treatment options. It accounts for about 10% to 15% of all breast cancers.

Jiangsu Alphamab Biopharmaceutical’s JSKN016 is in a late-stage trial for TNBC treatment and earlier-stage studies in other tumours. Existing drugs for TNBC include Merck’s blockbuster Keytruda and Gilead’s Trodelvy.

Under the deal with Pathos AI, Jiangsu Alphamab is also eligible for development and commercialization milestone payments that, together with the upfront payment, could bring the deal’s total value to as much as $2.09 billion, Alphamab Oncology said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Pathos AI will gain research, development, manufacturing and commercialization rights to JSKN016 outside Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong and mainland China. 

JSKN016 has “potential to address significant unmet need across a range of solid tumors”, Pathos AI CEO Iker Huerga said in a statement. 

Alphamab Oncology’s other assets include Chinese-approved solid tumor drug Envafolimab and gastric cancer drug Anbenitamab.

(Reporting by Andrew Silver in Shanghai, additional reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Shri Navaratnam)