Bristol-Myers Squibb and F-star Alpha Ltd. have entered an agreement that provides BMS the exclusive option to acquire F-star Alpha and gain worldwide rights to its lead asset FS102, a Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 (HER2)-targeted therapy in Phase I development for breast and gastric cancer.
 
BMS will make payments totaling $50 million that consist of an option fee for the right to acquire F-star Alpha, certain rights and licenses, and a clinical milestone payment for the Phase I trial. BMS will be responsible for further development of FS102 during the option period, and can exercise the option to acquire F-star Alpha upon starting Phase IIb trials. The total consideration may reach $475 million upon the commencement of a Phase III trial and regulatory approvals in the U.S. and Europe.
 
“This agreement is consistent with our R&D strategy to develop promising treatments that address areas of high unmet medical need, and provides the opportunity to complement our oncology portfolio with a novel targeted therapy,” said Francis Cuss, executive vice president and chief scientific officer, BMS. “We look forward to working with F-star and leveraging our broad clinical expertise in oncology to uncover the full potential of FS102.”
 
“We are thrilled that a company with the oncology experience and expertise of Bristol-Myers Squibb will be advancing our first clinical asset with the potential to provide a significant improvement over the current standard of care for a defined group of patients with HER2-positive cancer,” said John Haurum, M.D., D.Phil., chief executive officer at F-star Biotechnology Ltd. “In addition to the important improvement of cancer therapy FS102 may provide to patients, this program also provides validation of the Modular Antibody Technology platform as a powerful engine to discover and rapidly develop novel targeted biologics.”