Immunomedics out-licenses cancer drug candidate for up to $2 billion

The USA’s Immunomedics (Nasdaq: IMMU) saw its shares surge more than 30% to $5.60 in mid-morning trading, after the company announced a licensing deal for its investigational cancer drug that could net it $2 billion.

Under the deal with Seattle Genetics (Nasdaq: SGEN), the latter would receive exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize sacituzumab govitecan (IMMU-132). Sacituzumab govitecan is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeted to TROP-2, which is expressed in several solid tumors including cancers of the breast, lung and bladder. Seattle’s shares were down 4.3% at $60.09 mid-morning.

Sacituzumab govitecan is in a Phase I/II trial for patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), as well as multiple other solid tumors. It received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with TNBC who have failed prior therapies for metastatic disease. Data from the Phase I/II trial are intended to serve as the basis for a planned Biologics License Application (BLA) submission under the FDA’s accelerated approval regulations.