GlaxoSmithKline and iTeos sign $2 billion deal to develop cancer treatment
The two companies will work together to build a potential cancer treatment and sell it. They are working on developing, and eventually, co-commercializing, EOS-448, which is an anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody, currently in phase I development
By Yashasvini Razdan, 1:53 PM ET
In a move to strengthen the pharmaceutical division’s cancer pipeline, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has signed a $2 billion deal with US biotech iTeos Therapeutics.
The two companies will work together to build a potential cancer treatment and sell it. They are working on developing, and eventually, co-commercializing, EOS-448, which is an anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody, currently in phase I development.
Anti-TIGIT treatments are new experimental immuno-therapies against certain cancers. TIGIT and PVRIG are proteins that play a role in the suppression of the immune system. A monoclonal antibody binds with these proteins, potentially enhancing the body’s immune response to a tumor.
If successful, this project will make GSK’s treatment the only one to target all three known CD226 checkpoints - TIGIT, CD96, and PVRIG. Other known anti-TIGIT treatments include Roche's tiragolumab and Merck & Co’s vibostolimab, which prevent the tumor from evading the immune system.
