By Colin Kellaher

Seattle clinical-stage biotechnology company Kineta Inc. on Monday said it signed a licensing agreement potentially worth more than $500 million to develop new cancer immunotherapies with drug giant Pfizer Inc. (PFE).

Kineta said its Kineta Immuno-Oncology unit will receive $15 million upfront from Pfizer and will be eligible for up to $505 million in potential milestone payments.

Kineta said the companies will work to develop and test small molecule agonists that target RIG-I, an innate immunostimulatory pathway that can elicit immunogenic cell death in tumors, providing direct tumor cell killing and enhanced antitumor immune responses.

New York-based Pfizer will receive exclusive rights to Kineta's RIG-I screening platform and related compounds and technologies.

Kineta in April said it agreed to collaborate with Roche Holdings AG's (ROG.EB) Genentech on development of a nonopioid pain therapy in a deal that included up to $359 million on potential milestone payments.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 17, 2018 09:32 ET (14:32 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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