Exelixis, BMS To Co-Develop Cancer Drug

Bristol-Myers Squibb has exercised its option to develop and commercialize Exelixis’ compound XL139. Exelixis will receive a $20 million milestone payment and has exercised its option to co-develop and co-commercialize the drug in the U.S. BMS will lead all global activities and the parties will co-develop and co-commercialize XL139 in the U.S. and split those profits. Exelixis will be entitled to receive royalties on product sales outside of the U.S.
   
XL139 is a small molecule inhibitor of the hedgehog pathway. Hedgehog signaling is deregulated in a variety of cancers and the pathway is a promising target for novel cancer therapies.
   
“I am pleased that Bristol-Myers Squibb shares our enthusiasm for the potential of hedgehog pathway modulators and of XL139 in particular. This is an exciting pathway with therapeutic potential for a number of solid tumor types,” said George A. Scangos, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Exelixis. “Bristol-Myers Squibb has substantial expertise in commercializing innovative cancer therapies, and we are excited to have another opportunity to work with and learn from our Bristol-Myers Squibb colleagues. We expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb’s resources will help speed the development of this novel compound designed to inhibit an important cancer-related pathway. This will enable us to deploy our internal resources on our proprietary assets.”