Arvinas nabs $830 million deal with pharma giant

Privately-held US biotech firm Arvinas has inked a research collaboration and license agreement with pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) for the discovery and development of drug candidates using Arvinas' proprietary PROTAC (PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras) Platform, a novel technology used to create small molecule therapeutics aimed at degrading disease-causing cellular proteins.

The multi-year agreement covers the discovery and development of potential PROTAC clinical candidates designed to degrade several key disease-causing proteins in multiple therapeutic areas. Arvinas, a Yale University spin-out, will drive discovery efforts, and Pfizer will be accountable for clinical development and commercialization of any products that may result from this collaboration.

Under the terms of the agreement, Arvinas may receive up to $830 million in upfront and potential development and commercialization milestone payments upon achievement of specified preclinical, clinical and commercial milestones. In addition, Arvinas may be entitled to receive tiered royalties based on global product sales on any products that may result from this collaboration.