Argos gets a $40M China deal for AGS-003

China's Lummy HK and the China BioPharma Capital I Fund have agreed to acquire $10 million worth of Durham, NC-based Argos Therapeutics ($ARGS) stock in exchange for rights to develop and commercialize Argos' AGS-003 personalized cancer drug in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. Positive data from a pivotal Phase III due to read out later this year will trigger another $10 million stock buy with $20 million in commercial and regulatory milestones and a royalty on any sales also up for grabs. "Our agreement with Argos to develop AGS-003 in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau is another example of our ongoing commitment to develop and market new therapies that can address serious unmet needs in the treatment of cancer in China and throughout Asia," said Qiu Yu, chairman of Lummy HK. "The Arcelis technology platform also holds great promise for automating the manufacturing and commercialization of a portfolio of fully personalized immunotherapies and we look forward to working with Argos to initiate our own development programs to bring products based on this innovative technology to the patients we serve." Release (PDF)