NEW YORK, TOKYO & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bristol-Myers
Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY), Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo,
CEO: Haruo Naito, “Eisai”) and its U.S.-based precision medicine
research & development subsidiary H3
Biomedicine, Inc. (Massachusetts, “H3”) today announced a multi-year
research collaboration focused on evaluating whether novel therapeutics
leveraging H3’s RNA splicing platform can provide a more powerful
response against cancer.
The new collaboration will explore modulating RNA splicing to develop
potential first-in-class therapies that would direct the immune system
to target cancer cells and help more patients experience the benefits of
immunotherapy.
Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, H3 and Bristol-Myers Squibb
will jointly conduct the research focused on developing immune therapies
using H3’s RNA splicing platform. Bristol-Myers Squibb will be
responsible for development and commercialization of selected compounds,
and H3 is eligible to receive an upfront payment, development,
regulatory and sales milestones as well as certain royalties according
to sales revenue after launch. Eisai retains an option to co-develop and
co-commercialize certain compounds that emerge from the collaborative
research effort.
“We are excited to enter into this collaboration with Bristol-Myers
Squibb, as we share a mutual commitment to discover and develop
innovations that will help improve outcomes for patients,” said Lihua
Yu, Ph.D., President and Chief Data Sciences Officer at H3. “We have
already advanced the first application of our RNA splicing platform into
the clinic and look forward to building on that track record with
research on this potential new immuno-oncology application together with
Bristol-Myers Squibb, a leader in immuno-oncology. We believe this
collaboration will help us better understand whether our RNA splicing
platform can help enhance the immune system’s ability to more
effectively fight cancer.”
“Bristol-Myers Squibb is looking forward to collaborating with H3 to
advance the science and research around RNA splicing,” said Percy
Carter, Head of Discovery Chemistry and Molecular Technologies,
Bristol-Myers Squibb. “H3 has deep expertise in defining the role of
changes in RNA homeostasis that contribute to cancer. This collaboration
will allow both companies to gain a deeper understanding about
alterations in RNA splicing and an opportunity to discover new medicines
that can potentially improve outcomes for patients.”
“Since its inception, H3 has discovered potential new therapeutic
options that leverage breakthroughs from cancer genomics and
biotechnologies. We’re very proud of this new research collaboration
with Bristol-Myers Squibb, as it represents another critical milestone
for H3 and an opportunity for patients,” said Terushige Iike, President,
Oncology Business Group at Eisai and Chief Executive Officer at H3.
About Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission
is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help
patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about
Bristol-Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com
or follow us on LinkedIn,
Twitter,
YouTube
and Facebook.
About H3 Biomedicine
H3 Biomedicine, Inc., a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical
company specializing in the discovery and development of precision
oncology treatments using its integrated data science, human biology and
precision chemistry discovery engine with the goal of improving the
lives of patients. The company was established on December 2010 as a
subsidiary of Eisai’s U.S. pharmaceutical operation, Eisai Inc. H3
Biomedicine focuses on sustained long-term delivery of its pipeline,
collaborating with Eisai Co., Ltd., who provides essential research
funding and access to the capabilities and resources of a global
pharmaceutical company. For more information, please visit www.h3biomedicine.com.
About Eisai Co., Ltd.
Eisai Co., Ltd. is a leading global research and development-based
pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. We define our corporate
mission as “giving first thought to patients and their families and to
increasing the benefits health care provides,” which we call our human
health care philosophy. With approximately 10,000 employees working
across our global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and
marketing subsidiaries, we strive to realize our human health care
philosophy by delivering innovative products in various therapeutic
areas with high unmet medical needs, including Oncology and Neurology.
As a global pharmaceutical company, our mission extends to patients
around the world through our investment and participation in
partnership-based initiatives to improve access to medicines in
developing and emerging countries.
For more information about Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit www.eisai.com.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term
is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
regarding the research, development and commercialization of
pharmaceutical products. Such forward-looking statements are based on
current expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties,
including factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, and
could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from
current expectations. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed.
Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated
together with the many uncertainties that affect Bristol-Myers Squibb's
business, particularly those identified in the cautionary factors
discussion in Bristol-Myers Squibb's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2017 in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and
our Current Reports on Form 8-K. Bristol-Myers Squibb undertakes no
obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as
a result of new information, future events or otherwise.