As part of the deal, KODE would secure up to $31m in development and sales milestones, plus royalties on net sales, while Agalimmune will have exclusive rights to use the FSL technology in the field of intratumoral injection for cancer treatment, as well as relating to the clinical candidate molecule AGI-134.
KODE’s FSL technology has been validated by Agalimmune prior to in-licensing, and has been shown to be effective for treatment of both primary and secondary tumors in animal models.
Agalimmune injects synthetic animal-antigen mimetics, which includes the FSL constructs, into primary tumors.
As the immune system naturally rejects animal tissue, it attacks the modified tumor and in this process, the body’s immune system is educated to recognize the patient’s own tumor antigens and so destroy unmodified primary and secondary tumors.
Agalimmune director Graham Griffiths said: "We believe that this technology has great value in immunotherapy, and we are very pleased to be collaborating with a world-leader in the development of synthetic glycolipids.
"This licensing agreement also represents a significant step forward in Agalimmune’s progress towards the development of pioneering targeted cancer vaccines and immunotherapies for the benefit of patients."
According to the company, the FSL constructs have been engineered to be easily dispersed in biocompatible media, spontaneously incorporate into cell membranes, and have low toxicity.