Day One inks licensing pact with Sprint Bio for cancer drugs targeting VRK1
16 Aug 2023
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Day One Biopharmaceuticals said that it reached an agreement giving it an exclusive global license to develop small-molecule candidates stemming from Sprint Bioscience's VRK1 programme for cancers with high unmet need. The news sent Sprint's stock surging over 260% on Wednesday.
Samuel Blackman, who heads R&D operations at Day One, called the collaboration "an important continuation of measured portfolio development at [our company], which focuses on targeted therapies for children and adults with cancer in need of novel treatment approaches." He indicated that the parties will work " to advance the VRK1 programme through lead optimisation and into the clinic."
The companies noted that overexpression of VRK1, which helps regulate cell division and DNA repair, is linked to poor prognosis in a variety of adult and paediatric cancers. The marker has been also identified as a synthetic lethal target in tumours where expression of its VRK2 paralogue is lost. "Silencing of VRK2 expression via promoter methylation has been noted in the majority of high-grade gliomas and high-risk neuroblastomas, providing a concrete approach for selecting patients with tumours sensitive to VRK1 inhibition," the companies said.
Under the agreed terms, Day One will make an upfront payment of $3 million to Sprint and also reimburse the company for preclinical R&D expenses. In addition, Sprint will be eligible for milestones of up to about $313 million plus single-digit royalties pending achievement of certain R&D, regulatory and commercial outcomes.
In 2021, Sprint entered into a collaboration worth up to $277 million that granted Deciphera Pharmaceuticals exclusive global rights to its Vps34 cancer drug programme.
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