BRIEF—Chugai inks licensing deal with Verastem

Japan’s Chugai Pharmaceutical’s edged up 2.4% to 10,380 yen by close of trading today, after it said it has entered into a global licensing agreement with Verastem Oncology regarding CKI27 (CH5126766), an investigational anticancer agent under development by Chugai for solid tumors.

Phase I studies mainly initiated by investigators are ongoing in solid tumors including non-small cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer to investigate CKI27 both as monotherapy and combination therapy with other anticancer agents.

Under this agreement, Chugai, which is majority-owned by Swiss pharm giant Roche, will grant Verastem an exclusive worldwide license to manufacture, develop and commercialize CKI27. In return for the license, Chugai will receive an upfront fee of $3 million. If the compound is successfully launched as an approved pharmaceutical product, Chugai will also receive royalty payments from Verastem.