Johnson & Johnson is handing back a bispecific T cell engager program to its partner Xencor, ending a significant piece of an agreement between the companies that started in 2021.
Once known as Janssen, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine (JJIM) is returning the drug, which is designed to target both CD20 and CD3. Xencor completed enrollment for a Phase 1 trial of plamotamab last year. The biotech said the drug is now Phase 2-ready, adding it will review its potential to address unmet needs.
The original collaboration and license deal saw Xencor get $100 million upfront for global development and commercialization rights to plamotamab. JJIM was responsible for 80% of clinical development costs, with Xencor taking care of the rest.
Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC also bought $25 million in Xencor shares. The California biotech had been eligible for up to $1.18 billion in milestones and royalties.
Handing back plamotamab does not spell the end of Xencor’s work with JJIM, however. In 2021, the companies also agreed to develop and commercialize new B cell-targeting bispecific antibodies that conditionally activate T cells through the CD28 receptor.
The work yielded two candidates – JNJ-9401 and JNJ-1493 – that are in active development. At the end of last year, JNJ-9401 entered the clinic for prostate cancer and JNJ-1493 entered Phase 1 for B cell malignancies. Xencor is still eligible for milestones and royalties on these drugs.
For J&J, the move comes as the company focuses on investing in immunology and inflammation assets. In May, the drugmaker spent $1.25 billion in cash to buy Yellow Jersey Therapeutics. Earlier that same month, the company paid $850 million for private biotech Proteologix, which is working on treatments for atopic dermatitis, among other I&I conditions.
The company kicked off 2024, however, by pushing further into the ADC space with a $2 billion cash deal for Ambrx Biopharma. Last year, it spent $3 billion on more than 50 smaller licensing partnerships and deals, including with makers of ADCs and CAR-T therapies.