Elevar Therapeutics Announces Exclusive Global Licensing Agreement with Relay Therapeutics for Lirafugratinib

Gunderson Dettmer represented client Elevar Therapeutics, Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of HLB Co., Ltd. and fully integrated biopharmaceutical company, in its exclusive global licensing agreement with Relay Therapeutics, a clinical-stage precision medicine company transforming the drug discovery process by combining leading-edge computational and experimental technologies, for rights to develop and commercialize lirafugratinib. Lirafugratinib is a selective oral small molecule inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) that is being developed for patients with FGFR2-driven cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and other FGFR2-altered solid tumors.

Under the terms of the agreement, Elevar will be granted global development and commercialization rights for lirafugratinib. Elevar will assume full responsibility for all further development activities, including submission of the NDAs, all subsequent clinical development, and global commercialization for FGFR2-driven CCA and FGFR2-altered other solid tumors. Relay Therapeutics is eligible to receive up to $75 million in upfront and regulatory milestones, plus up to $425 million in potential commercial milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties up to the low-teens percentage.

In the announcement of the agreement, Elevar Therapeutics chief executive officer Saeho Chong, Ph.D. said, “Lirafugratinib is an NDA-ready therapy that has shown a potential best-in-class profile in both FGFR2-driven cholangiocarcinoma and in other FGFR2-altered solid tumors including in advanced stages where treatment options are limited. We are excited to diversify and expand our late-stage oncology pipeline with lirafugratinib, which is a strong strategic fit with our existing oncology portfolio and provides another opportunity to advance our mission of bringing life-changing medicines to cancer patients worldwide.”

The Gunderson Dettmer team was led by Tim Ehrlich and included Joel Diamond and Ross Ewing.

Companies
Elevar Therapeutics
Relay Therapeutics