Genmab in $1.1-bn onco drug licencing deal with Johnson & Johnson

Danish biotechnology company Genmab today said that it has signed a $1.1 billion (€876 million) global license and development agreement with US drug giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) for the rights to its cancer treatment Daratumumab.

Under the terms of the agreement, Genmab will receive an upfront license fee of $55 million from J&J unit Janssen Biotech and Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC) will invest $80 million in buying 5.4 million new shares of Genmab at DKK 88 per share.

The Copenhagen, Denmark-based company could also be entitled to up to $1 billion in development, regulatory and sales milestones, in addition to tiered double digit royalties.

Janssen will be fully responsible for all costs associated with developing and commercialising daratumumab, including the costs of two ongoing Phase I/II studies.

Daratumumab is currently in development for multiple myeloma and may have potential in other cancer indications such as acute myeloid leukemia.

"Janssen was one of the first companies to recognise the power and promise of monoclonal antibodies and today is a world leader in biologics; we look forward to applying that same expertise to daratumumab to help meet the needs of patients with multiple myeloma," said William Hait, M D., PhD, head of Janssen Research & Development.  "Daratumumab is an exciting, innovative compound, and we are delighted to add it to our portfolio."

"We are very pleased to partner with Janssen on another Genmab innovation and look forward to working with them to accelerate the development of daratumumab and to maximise the value of this product," said Jan van de Winkel, Ph.D., CEO of Genmab.

"This agreement significantly strengthens our financial position, ensuring that Genmab can continue to develop much needed differentiated antibody therapeutics to help cancer patients in the future," he added.