Amgen and Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH, have entered a research collaboration and exclusive license agreement to develop next-gen T-cell engaging bispecific immunotherapies targeting multiple cancers.

The collaboration will combine Immatics’ XPRESIDENT target discovery and T-cell receptor (TCR) capabilities with Amgen’s validated Bispecific T-cell Engager (BiTE) technology with the goal of creating new oncology drugs. Amgen will be responsible for the clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization worldwide.

Immatics will receive $30 million upfront and is eligible to receive more than $500 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestones, as well as royalties on sales.

“We are very pleased to be entering this strategic collaboration with Amgen, which is contributing its bispecific T-cell engagers expertise, as together we look to develop novel immunotherapies that will deliver a step change in the treatment of several cancers. This collaboration also demonstrates Amgen’s confidence in Immatics’ world-leading immune-oncology target and TCR discovery capabilities,” said Carsten Reinhardt, M.D., Ph.D., managing director and chief medical officer at Immatics.

“The intersection of immunology and oncology represents a promising and rapidly developing approach that can have a significant impact for patients with cancer,” said Sean E. Harper, M.D., executive vice president of R&D at Amgen. “We look forward to collaborating with Immatics to translate their unique target and TCR discovery capabilities combined with Amgen’s validated BiTE^® technology into novel therapies.”