Arcus Biosciences announced that Gilead’s time-limited exclusive option rights to experimental oral small molecule, casdatifan, have expired, enabling Arcus to independently advance development of the kidney cancer treatment.
In addition, Arcus has announced the pricing of a $150 million common stock offering, financing that is expected to fund Arcus through the anticipated data readout for PEAK-1, the phase 3 trial for casdatifan in the immuno-oncology-experienced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) setting.
“We are thrilled to retain ownership of casdatifan, which has the potential to address a significant unmet need for patients with an estimated $5 billion market opportunity. Owning the rights to casdatifan represents a transformational change for Arcus, providing us with significant future strategic optionality,” said Terry Rosen, Arcus CEO.
Casdatifan is a small-molecule inhibitor of HIF-2a, a transcription factor responsible for activating multiple tumor growth pathways in hypoxic and pseudo-hypoxic tumor environments. By selectively binding HIF-2⍺, casdatifan is designed to shut down hypoxic oncogenesis, which blocks tumor growth and key oncogenic pathways, leading to cancer cell death. Clear cell RCC is almost universally associated with HIF-2a dysregulation.
In May 2020, Arcus established a 10-year collaboration that granted Gilead time-limited exclusive option rights to all of the Arcus clinical programs arising during the collaboration term. Arcus and Gilead are co-developing four investigational products, including zimberelimab (Arcus’s anti-PD-1 molecule), domvanalimab (Arcus’s anti-TIGIT antibody), etrumadenant (Arcus’s adenosine receptor antagonist) and quemliclustat (Arcus’s CD73 inhibitor).