Fonte: FirstWord Pharma
(Texto original, publicado em inglês)
Bayer in pursuit of oncology targets via $930-million Tavros deal
Bayer struck a deal to use Tavros Therapeutics’ functional genomics and computational analysis technologies in order to zero in on multiple oncology targets, the companies announced Wednesday. “Many targets remain inaccessible to traditional small-molecule drugs, and many others have uncertain relevance to disease,” remarked Jeffrey Hatfield, CEO of Bayer’s Vividion Therapeutics subsidiary, but the $930-million tie-up “brings together two…synergistic approaches to drug discovery that will address both of these challenges.”
Tavros’ precision oncology platform is designed to exploit genetic vulnerabilities within tumours to discover viable targets and biomarkers that it says will ultimately improve patient outcomes, minimise toxicity and more quickly help define patient subsets. According to Tavros, the technology can “precisely and directly identify the paired genetic interactions that form the basis for breakthrough targets and first-in-class cancer drugs.”
Four targets, plus opt-in rights to five more
Tavros will receive $17.5 million upfront as part of the deal, plus up to $430.5 million in milestones for four initial programmes, as well as certain royalties, over an initial five-year term. Meanwhile, Bayer will also have rights to opt-in to up to five more targets, which could see Tavros pocket another $482 million in additional payments.
“Vividion has the ability to find and drug…cryptic functional binding pockets on oncology and immunology targets of high interest, while Tavros has the potential to uncover previously unknown synthetic vulnerabilities or dependencies in deadly tumour cells,” Hatfield said, adding “this powerful combination…has the potential to deliver multiple breakthrough discoveries for cancer patients.”
Vividion, which launched in 2017, was acquired by Bayer last year for $1.5 billion to bolster its small-molecule capabilities and help it expand into new modalities.
