Jubilant Life signs $180 mn outlicensing deal with Checkpoint

NEW DELHI: Drug firm Jubilant Life Sciences (JLS) announced a $180 million out-licensing pact with Checkpoint Therapeutics Inc for a family of patented compounds to be developed for cancer treatment.

The company's subsidiary Jubilant Biosys and Checkpoint Therapeutics Inc have signed an exclusive, worldwide license deal, under which Checkpoint will assume all its further pre-clinical, clinical development and commercialisation responsibilities, JLS said in a BSE filing.

The pact includes an upfront payment of $2 million and contingent pre-clinical, clinical and regulatory payments including commercial milestones totaling up to $180 million, it added.

As per the agreement, "Jubilant Biosys will out-license to Checkpoint a family of patents covering compounds that inhibit BRD4, a member of the BET domain for cancer treatment."

Jubilant Biosys will also receive research funding and royalty payments on successful commercialisation of the compounds, it added.

JLS Chairman Shyam S Bhartia and Co-Chairman and MD Hari S Bhartia said, "This agreement represents our first out-licensing deal which is a testament to our investment in innovation in the pharmaceutical business."

Jubilant had decided to make strategic investments in proprietary drug discovery of small molecules with an intent to out-license the same for upfront payments and phased milestone payments/royalties, they added.

"This agreement enhances our current product portfolio of immuno-oncology and targeted anti-cancer agents," Checkpoint President and CEO James F Oliviero III said.

BET inhibitors have generated significant excitement within the oncology community and "Jubilant's asset provides us with additional opportunities to explore proprietary combinations and treatment options for patients," he added.