Horizon Discovery in-licenses oncology program from Servier

UK-based Horizon Discovery Group (LSE: HZD) says that its leveraged business unit has signed a program in-licensing and option agreement with independent French pharma firm Servier.

The agreement is potentially worth over £50 million ($76 million) to Horizon in preclinical and clinical milestones, payments linked to net sales, and tiered royalties on future product sales. Shares in Horizon were up 1.7% to 151.50 pence in early trading today.Analysts at N+1 Singer have 194 pence target on the stock.

Horizon has in-licensed novel kinase inhibitors from Servier that exhibit great promise based on preclinical data for treatment of a range of cancer types but do not currently have a biomarker to define a sensitive patient population. Horizon will use its world-leading platform, comprising isogenic cell lines and in vivo models, CRISPR-Cas9 mediated gene editing technology and ultra-high-throughput combination screening, to identify the population of cancer patients most likely to respond to the in-licensed compounds, whether as single agents or in combinations with other drugs. Horizon also has the option to explore the use of the inhibitors in other therapeutic indications.