Bristol Myers Squibb and Molecular Templates Form $1.37-Billion R&D Collaboration

Bristol Myers Squibb and Molecular Templates (MTEM), a US-based clinical-stagebiologic therapeutics company, announced on Feb. 11, 2021 that they have entered into a research collaboration to discover and develop multiple novel therapies designed for specific oncology targets.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bristol Myers Squibb will provide an upfront payment of $70 million to MTEM, who will also be eligible to receive near-term and development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments of up to $1.3 billion, MTEM said in a company press release. MTEM will handle research activities for the discovery of the next generation of engineered toxin bodies (ETBs) using its ETB platform, while Bristol Myers Squibb will obtain a license to develop and commercialize the ETBs.

“Bristol Myers Squibb is a leading global pharmaceutical company with a strong oncology franchise and a history of innovation, making them an ideal partner for the discovery and development of novel ETBs for the treatment of cancer,” said Eric Poma, PhD, Molecular Templates’ CEO and scientific officer, in the press release. “MTEM is excited to be working with Bristol Myers Squibb to focus on discovering and developing new ETBs against promising oncology targets. This collaboration provides further validation of our ETB platform while we continue to advance our wholly-owned product pipeline to offer promising therapeutic options for patients.”