Bristol-Myers Squibb and Bavarian Nordic have entered an agreement that provides BMS an exclusive option to license and commercialize PROSTVAC, Bavarian Nordic's Phase III prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-targeting cancer immunotherapy in development for asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
 
Bavarian Nordic will receive an upfront payment of $60 million and would be entitled to $80 million should BMS exercise its option, plus additional payments with a potential to exceed $230 million based on Phase II results. Bavarian could also receive regulatory milestones of $110 million, and as much as $495 million in sales milestones and royalties. Additionally, the companies have entered a supply contract, under which Bavarian Nordic will undertake the future commercial manufacturing of PROSTVAC.
 
"While additional treatment options have become available, metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer remains largely incurable," said Michael Giordano, head of development, Oncology, Bristol-Myers Squibb. "Our agreement with Bavarian Nordic reflects our commitment to following the emerging science in immuno-oncology and supports our strategy to transform the treatment of cancer across multiple tumor types, lines of therapy and stages of disease."
 
"We are proud to partner with Bristol-Myers Squibb whose excellence and leadership in immuno-oncology provides a strong foundation for advancing PROSTVAC, which has the potential to become an essential component in the treatment of prostate cancer," said Paul Chaplin, Ph.D. and chief executive officer of Bavarian Nordic. "Leveraging the capabilities of Bristol-Myers Squibb's science, we look forward to exploring the full potential of PROSTVAC in the future treatment paradigm of prostate cancer."