Junshi Biosciences (HKG: 1877; SHA: 688180), based in Suzhou, has announced the termination of its licensing agreement with US-based Coherus BioSciences Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRS) concerning the T cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domains (TIGIT) monoclonal antibody CHS-006/JS006.
The original licensing deal, established in February 2021, granted Coherus exclusive rights to Junshi’s programmed death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor Tuoyi (toripalimab) and another program in the US and Canada. The agreement was expanded in January 2022 to include JS006, with Coherus paying Junshi an upfront fee of $35 million and committing to up to $255 million in milestone payments. Following the termination, Junshi will regain full global rights to JS006.
According to the announcement, Junshi will retain the $35 million upfront payment and will not be responsible for any research and development costs incurred by Coherus. Notably, the partnership regarding toripalimab remains unaffected, with Coherus continuing to support a Phase I clinical trial evaluating JS006 as a monotherapy or in combination with toripalimab in advanced tumors.
Coherus had previously announced in November 2023 that it was pausing the Phase I/II trial for CHS-006/JS006 while evaluating both its own and competitors’ TIGIT data as part of its portfolio prioritization strategy. The development of TIGIT-targeted therapies has faced challenges, with other drug makers like Merck, Sharp & Dohme and Roche encountering clinical setbacks, while Bristol-Myers Squibb and Novartis have discontinued their TIGIT candidates.- Flcube.com
