USA—Clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical business RayzeBio has been acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) for US$4.1 billion, making it a fully owned subsidiary of BMS.
With the acquisition, BMS gains access to a pipeline of radiopharmaceutical therapies (RPTs), which includes the lead program RYZ101 (²²⁵Ac-DOTATATE).
RYZ101 targets somatostatin receptor 2 (SSTR2), over-expressed in GEP-NETs and extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC).
Phase III clinical trial to evaluate RYZ101is currently underway involving subjects with SSTR-positive GEP-NETs who have previously received treatment with lutetium-177-based somatostatin treatments.
Earlier, the ACTION-1 clinical trial’s Phase Ib interim findings for RYZ101 have demonstrated good tolerability and efficacy.
A Phase Ib trial is also underway to evaluate RYZ101 as a first-line treatment for ES-SCLC in conjunction with standard-of-care therapy.
An RPT manufacturing facility that will start up in the first half of 2024 is also included in the deal.
BMS CEO Chris Boerner stated: “We are excited to complete this transaction, which adds RPTs, one of the fastest-growing new modalities for treating patients with solid tumours.
“By strengthening and further diversifying our oncology pipeline beyond I-O, we will unlock exciting opportunities that support BMS’s growth in the back half of the decade and beyond.”
RayzeBio’s acquisition follows BMS’ partnership with VantAI, a company focused on generative AI-enabled drug discovery.
The partnership will leverages VantAI’s geometric deep learning capabilities with Bristol Myers Squibb’s expertise in targeted protein degradation to design and develop molecular glues.
Molecular glues are a type of small molecule that induces or stabilises interactions between two proteins that would not normally go together.
Under the partnership, VantAI is eligible to receive up to US$674 million in discovery, development, clinical, regulatory, and sales milestone payments plus tiered royalties from Bristol Myers Squibb.
BMS and VantAI did not disclose the therapeutic areas initially being targeted but revealed that the pharma has the option to further expand this collaboration into additional programmes.
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