Eikon turns dealmaker to expand pipeline
01 Jun 2023
Executive ChangeLicense out/in
Eikon Therapeutics on Thursday announced the expansion of its pipeline with the addition of a number of early- to mid-stage assets through deals with three companies. The transactions include rights to TLR7/8 agonist immune modulatorsTLR7/8 agonist immune modulators and a portfolio of PARP1-selective inhibitorsPARP1-selective inhibitors.
CEO Roger Perlmutter, who joined the company in 2021, said "Eikon has taken an important step in building a diverse portfolio, at different stages of the development cycle, which address significant unmet medical needs." The executive, who was previously head of research at Merck & Co., added "each of these new programmes will complement the progress we have made in our…discovery platform, translating protein population dynamics measurements into discoveries that will enable the development of important new medicines."
Pipeline takes shape…
Under the first deal, Eikon acquired global rights to the clinical-stage TLR7/8 agonistTLR7/8 agonist immune modulators BDB001 and BDB018 from Seven and Eight Biopharmaceuticals. The drugmaker noted that the clinical-stage assets have shown tolerable safety and activity both as monotherapy and in combination with PD-(L)1 inhibitorsPD-(L)1 inhibitors in advanced, refractory, solid tumours. The agreement also includes an exclusive licensing agreement to develop TLR ligand antibody conjugation (TLAC) molecules.
Meanwhile, Eikon has licensed a portfolio of PARP1-selective inhibitorsPARP1-selective inhibitors from Impact Therapeutics and acquired a suite of preclinical assets from Cleave Therapeutics that address targets involved in protein homeostasis, DNA damage repair and chromatin remodelling. As part of the agreement with Impact Therapeutics, Eikon will work to bring the highly selective PARP1 inhibitorPARP1 inhibitor IMP1734 into clinical development, with plans to file a US investigational new drug application by the end of the third quarter. Eikon has rights to IMP1734 and other PARP1 selective inhibitorsPARP1 selective inhibitors globally, excluding Greater China.
…as Baynes builds team
"Our business development strategy is focused on high-potential assets that Eikon is uniquely positioned to develop, and which complement our internal discovery programmes," remarked chief medical officer (CMO) Roy Baynes. The executive joined Eikon last year, stepping down from his role of CMO and head of global clinical development at Merck. On Thursday, the company also unveiled its clinical development organisation, including the appointment of Suba Krishnan Mereo BioPharma, Kevin O'Brien from Gilead Sciences and Harry Raftopoulos from Bayer.
In addition, Eikon said Thursday that it also closed the first tranche of a Series C equity financing, adding nearly $106 million to support its clinical programmes. The company has raised nearly $775 million in capital since its founding in late 2019, including over $500 million via a Series B financing last year.
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