Gilead Sciences has announced an exclusive license agreement to develop and commercialize Xilio Therapeutics' phase 1 tumor-activated IL-12 program, XTX301.
XTX301 is currently being evaluated in a phase 1 dose-escalation trial in patients with advanced solid tumors.
The Massachusetts-based biotech is using its proprietary tumor-activation platform to build a pipeline of novel, tumor-activated molecules designed to optimize the therapeutic index and localize anti-tumor activity within the tumor microenvironment.
Per the deal, Xilio will receive $43.5 million in upfront payments, including a cash payment of $30 million and a $13.5 million equity investment. Xilio will be eligible to receive up to $604 million in additional contingent payments, including additional equity investments and milestone payments.
For Gilead, the move into tumor-activated therapies will serve to expand the drugmaker's focus in immuno-oncology. The industry has long experimented with the idea of IL-12 as a viable therapeutic in the fight against cancer, but mostly come up short. Last September, Moderna discontinued its IL-12 program in solid tumors, after AstraZeneca bailed on the partnership the year prior. In February 2023, Bristol Myers Squibb handed back the rights to develop Dragonfly Therapeutics' phase 1 IL-12 cytokine investigational immunotherapy program.