BMS expanding I-O portfolio through IFM acquisition
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY) will acquire IFM Therapeutics Inc. (Boston, Mass.), gaining two preclinical programs focused on stimulating the innate immune system to treat cancer. IFM receives $300 million up front and is eligible for up to $1 billion in milestones per program for the first resulting product, plus additional milestones for subsequent products.
BMS gains full rights to a NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3; NALP3; CIAS1) agonist, and a transmembrane protein 173 (STING; TMEM173) agonist. NLRP3 and STING belong to a class of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) -- proteins expressed by immune and other cells that evolved to detect molecular hallmarks on invading microbes and trigger a defensive immune response...