NEW YORK & WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) and Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc. ("Dragonfly"), today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Bristol Myers Squibb will be granted the global exclusive license to Dragonfly’s interleukin-12 (IL-12) investigational immunotherapy program, including its extended half-life cytokine DF6002. DF6002 is a monovalent IL-12 immunoglobulin Fc fusion protein proposed to achieve strong anti-tumor efficacy by establishing an inflammatory tumor microenvironment necessary for productive anti-tumor responses.
Under the agreement, Bristol Myers Squibb will become responsible for the development and any subsequent commercialization of DF6002 and its related products worldwide, including strategic decisions, regulatory responsibilities, funding, and manufacturing. Dragonfly will receive $475 million in near-term upfronts, and is eligible to receive performance-based development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. In addition, Dragonfly will receive up to 24% royalties on worldwide net sales. The agreement is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
Dragonfly received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance in May 2020 for its investigational new drug application to develop DF6002. In addition, Dragonfly has an ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial for patients with advanced solid tumors, which began in July 2020. Bristol Myers Squibb intends to advance the research and development of DF6002 in oncology and hematology.
“As we continue to expand our focus in oncology, we are pleased to be adding an IL-12 Fc-fusion protein to our oncology pipeline in the form of DF6002,” said Rupert Vessey, M.A., B.M., B.Ch., F.R.C.P., D.Phil., Executive Vice President & President, Research & Early Development, Bristol Myers Squibb. “We look forward to our continued work with Dragonfly to further guide the program’s clinical data at this pivotal point in its development, as we continue to deliver on our commitment to serve more patients with cancer.”
“We are excited to be collaborating once again with Bristol Myers Squibb, whose broad range of oncology agents makes it a fantastic partner to accelerate the development of DF6002, the most advanced cytokine in Dragonfly’s pipeline,” said Bill Haney, Co-founder and CEO of Dragonfly Therapeutics. “We are confident that the talent, experience and commitment to science-driven innovation of the Bristol Myers Squibb team will enable DF6002 to discover novel, lifesaving solutions for patients.”
About DF6002
DF6002, Dragonfly's extended half-life IL12 cytokine, is an investigational immunotherapy being evaluated in adult patients for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. DF6002 has the potential to stimulate effective anti-tumor immunity in patients who are not eligible or not adequately responding to current therapies. DF6002 is the most advanced in a pipeline of cytokines that Dragonfly is developing to address the high unmet need in patients with advanced cancer.
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, Facebook, and Instagram.
About Dragonfly
Dragonfly Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing therapies that use its novel technology to harness the body's innate immune system to bring breakthrough disease treatments to patients. Dragonfly has a deep pipeline of wholly owned programs developed using its platform. For more information visit us at www.Dragonflytx.com , or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Bristol Myers Squibb Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products and the definitive agreement with Dragonfly (the “Definitive Agreement”). All statements that are not statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on historical performance and current expectations and projections about our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them in the next several years, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond our control and could cause our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, that the expected benefits of, and opportunities related to, the Definitive Agreement may not be realized by Bristol Myers Squibb or may take longer to realize than anticipated and that Bristol Myers Squibb may fail to discover and develop any commercially successful product candidates under Dragonfly’s interleukin-12 (IL-12) investigational immunotherapy program. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many risks and uncertainties that affect Bristol Myers Squibb’s business and market, particularly those identified in the cautionary statement and risk factors discussion in Bristol Myers Squibb’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, as updated by our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and except as otherwise required by applicable law, Bristol Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.
