NEW YORK, TOKYO & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY), Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, CEO: Haruo Naito, “Eisai”) and its U.S.-based precision medicine research & development subsidiary H3 Biomedicine, Inc. (Massachusetts, “H3”) today announced a multi-year research collaboration focused on evaluating whether novel therapeutics leveraging H3’s RNA splicing platform can provide a more powerful response against cancer.
The new collaboration will explore modulating RNA splicing to develop potential first-in-class therapies that would direct the immune system to target cancer cells and help more patients experience the benefits of immunotherapy.
Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, H3 and Bristol-Myers Squibb will jointly conduct the research focused on developing immune therapies using H3’s RNA splicing platform. Bristol-Myers Squibb will be responsible for development and commercialization of selected compounds, and H3 is eligible to receive an upfront payment, development, regulatory and sales milestones as well as certain royalties according to sales revenue after launch. Eisai retains an option to co-develop and co-commercialize certain compounds that emerge from the collaborative research effort.
“We are excited to enter into this collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb, as we share a mutual commitment to discover and develop innovations that will help improve outcomes for patients,” said Lihua Yu, Ph.D., President and Chief Data Sciences Officer at H3. “We have already advanced the first application of our RNA splicing platform into the clinic and look forward to building on that track record with research on this potential new immuno-oncology application together with Bristol-Myers Squibb, a leader in immuno-oncology. We believe this collaboration will help us better understand whether our RNA splicing platform can help enhance the immune system’s ability to more effectively fight cancer.”
“Bristol-Myers Squibb is looking forward to collaborating with H3 to advance the science and research around RNA splicing,” said Percy Carter, Head of Discovery Chemistry and Molecular Technologies, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “H3 has deep expertise in defining the role of changes in RNA homeostasis that contribute to cancer. This collaboration will allow both companies to gain a deeper understanding about alterations in RNA splicing and an opportunity to discover new medicines that can potentially improve outcomes for patients.”
“Since its inception, H3 has discovered potential new therapeutic options that leverage breakthroughs from cancer genomics and biotechnologies. We’re very proud of this new research collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb, as it represents another critical milestone for H3 and an opportunity for patients,” said Terushige Iike, President, Oncology Business Group at Eisai and Chief Executive Officer at H3.
About Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol-Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.
About H3 Biomedicine
H3 Biomedicine, Inc., a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery and development of precision oncology treatments using its integrated data science, human biology and precision chemistry discovery engine with the goal of improving the lives of patients. The company was established on December 2010 as a subsidiary of Eisai’s U.S. pharmaceutical operation, Eisai Inc. H3 Biomedicine focuses on sustained long-term delivery of its pipeline, collaborating with Eisai Co., Ltd., who provides essential research funding and access to the capabilities and resources of a global pharmaceutical company. For more information, please visit www.h3biomedicine.com.
About Eisai Co., Ltd.
Eisai Co., Ltd. is a leading global research and development-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. We define our corporate mission as “giving first thought to patients and their families and to increasing the benefits health care provides,” which we call our human health care philosophy. With approximately 10,000 employees working across our global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to realize our human health care philosophy by delivering innovative products in various therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs, including Oncology and Neurology.
As a global pharmaceutical company, our mission extends to patients around the world through our investment and participation in partnership-based initiatives to improve access to medicines in developing and emerging countries.
For more information about Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit www.eisai.com.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, and could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from current expectations. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect Bristol-Myers Squibb's business, particularly those identified in the cautionary factors discussion in Bristol-Myers Squibb's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K. Bristol-Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
