Relay Therapeutics, a clinical-stage precision medicine company, announced it has entered into a worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, for the development and commercialization of RLY-1971, a potent inhibitor of SHP2. Under the collaboration, Genentech will assume development of RLY-1971 with the potential to expand into multiple combination studies including with Genentech’s investigational inhibitor of KRAS G12C, GDC-6036.
"RLY-1971 has the potential to serve as a backbone for combination therapy across numerous solid tumors and therefore represents an encouraging approach for cancer patients," said Sanjiv Patel, president and CEO of Relay.
"Genentech has a longstanding commitment to understanding the underlying biology of KRAS, the most commonly mutated oncogene and an important driver of cancer growth,” said James Sabry, global head of pharma partnering at Roche. “We believe that the combination of KRAS G12C and SHP2 inhibitors together represents a promising approach that we hope could become a new treatment option for patients with KRAS G12C mutant tumors.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Relay Therapeutics will receive $75 million in an upfront payment and is eligible to receive $25 million in additional near-term payments. Relay Therapeutics also has the right to opt in to a 50/50 U.S. profit/cost share on RLY-1971. If Relay elects to opt in, then Relay will be eligible to receive 50 percent of profits from U.S. sales and up to $410 million in additional ex-U.S. commercialization and sales-based milestone payments, as well as royalties on ex-U.S. net sales. If Relay Therapeutics elects not to opt in, then Relay will be eligible to receive up to $695 million in additional development, commercialization and sales-based milestones, as well as royalties on global net sales, anticipated to be in the low-to-mid-teens. In the event of regulatory approval of both RLY-1971 and GDC-6036 in combination, Relay Therapeutics is eligible to receive additional royalties.
Read the Relay Therapeutics statement