BMS inks $710M development deal with PDL

Bristol-Myers Squibb is paying $30 million upfront in a licensing deal for PDL BioPharma's experimental blood cancer vaccine elotuzumab. And will it pay up to $680 million more if the Phase I cancer therapy hits all of its development and sales milestones. The anti-CS1 antibody binds to a protein that plays a key role in multiple myeloma, flagging it for destruction by the human immune system. BMS agreed to cover 80 percent of the development costs with PDL putting up 20 percent. The two plan to share profits in the U.S. And the deal includes an option to collaborate on PDL241 after it completes preliminary testing.

"Consistent with our company's strategy to integrate external innovation and to expand our capabilities, this collaboration will further strengthen our pipeline of agents targeting hematologic malignancies, which includes SPRYCEL and tanespimycin, an Hsp90 inhibitor from our recent acquisition of Kosan Biosciences," said Francis Cuss, M.D., senior vice president, discovery and exploratory clinical research, Bristol-Myers Squibb.

--read the AP report
--read the Bristol-Myers Squibb release

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