Jounce Therapeutics Regains Worldwide Rights to JTX-8064 from Bristol Myers Squibb
04 June 2020 - 10:00PM
Jounce Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNCE), a clinical-stage company
focused on the discovery and development of novel cancer
immunotherapies and predictive biomarkers, today announced that it
has regained the worldwide rights to JTX-8064 from Bristol Myers
Squibb. JTX-8064 is a highly-selective, potential first-in-class
antibody that targets the Leukocyte Immunoglobulin Like Receptor B2
(LILRB2) on macrophages, and was licensed to Celgene in July 2019.
As part of its Celgene integration process, Bristol Myers Squibb is
streamlining its pipeline and addressing areas of overlap. As a
result, Bristol Myers Squibb notified Jounce that the JTX-8064
License Agreement is being terminated.
“We are thrilled to regain the rights to JTX-8064 and we view
this as a significant opportunity for Jounce. Though we highly
valued our longstanding partnership with Celgene, now a Bristol
Myers Squibb company, having an additional wholly-owned program
enables us to further our mission to discover new immunotherapies
from a variety of important immune cell types, and develop them for
patients who are not well served by today’s therapies,” said
Richard Murray, Ph.D., chief executive officer and president of
Jounce Therapeutics. “The discovery and development of JTX-8064
showcases the strength of our Translational Science Platform in
target identification, and our ability to move programs towards the
clinic in a rapid manner. In particular, we believe that LILRB2 may
function as an immune checkpoint for macrophages and based on our
body of existing preclinical data, JTX-8064 has the potential to
re-program tumor-associated macrophages within the tumor
microenvironment and enhance anti-tumor immunity. We are eager to
advance this program into the clinic and will make every effort to
do this expeditiously.
License AgreementIn July 2019, Jounce and
Celgene, which is now a Bristol Myers Squibb company, announced an
exclusive License Agreement for the worldwide rights to JTX-8064.
Under the terms of the agreement, Jounce received a $50.0 million
non-refundable license fee from Celgene. Effective, June 3, 2020,
the License Agreement is terminated. Beyond transition costs and
efforts, neither Bristol Myers Squibb or Jounce have any further
financial or service obligations to one another. All Jounce
intellectual property rights pertaining to JTX-8064 and licensed to
Celgene have been reacquired by Jounce.
About JTX-8064JTX-8064 is an anti-LILRB2
antibody and is the first tumor-associated macrophage candidate to
emerge from Jounce’s Translational Science Platform. Preclinical
data presented at the 2019 American Association for Cancer Research
Annual Meeting supports the development of JTX-8064 as a novel
immunotherapy to reprogram immune-suppressive macrophages and
enhance anti-tumor immunity.
About Jounce TherapeuticsJounce Therapeutics,
Inc. is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company dedicated to
transforming the treatment of cancer by developing therapies that
enable the immune system to attack tumors and provide long-lasting
benefits to patients through a biomarker-driven approach. Jounce
currently has four development-stage programs, two of which are
clinical-stage: vopratelimab, a monoclonal antibody that binds to
and activates ICOS, and JTX-4014, a PD-1 inhibitor intended for
combination use with Jounce’s broader pipeline. Vopratelimab is
currently being assessed in a Phase 2 clinical trial, EMERGE, and
Jounce plans to initiate an additional Phase 2 biomarker trial
using TISvopra for patient selection, SELECT, to assess
vopratelimab in combination with JTX-4014. Jounce’s IND-enabling
preclinical programs include JTX-8064, a LILRB2 receptor antagonist
and JTX-1811, a monoclonal antibody designed to selectively deplete
T regulatory cells in the tumor microenvironment. For more
information, please visit www.jouncetx.com.
Forward-Looking StatementsStatements in this
release concerning Jounce’s future expectations and plans,
including without limitation, Jounce’s clinical development
strategy and expectations regarding the timing of clinical trials,
may constitute forward looking statements for the purposes of the
safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws and are
subject to substantial risks, uncertainties and assumptions. You
should not place reliance on these forward-looking statements,
which include words such as “expect,” “plan,” or similar terms,
variations of such terms or the negative of those terms. Although
the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the
forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot
guarantee such outcomes. Actual results may differ materially from
those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of
various important factors, as well as those risks more fully
discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Jounce’s most
recent annual report on Form 10-K or quarterly report on Form 10-Q,
as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other
important factors in Jounce’s subsequent filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. All such statements speak only
as of the date made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to
update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Investor and Media Contact: Komal Joshi Jounce
Therapeutics, Inc. (857) 320-2523 kjoshi@jouncetx.com
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