Bristol Myers Squibb will give back a preclinical cancer drug to Schrödinger, returning the SOS1 inhibitor that was part of a 2020 deal between the companies.
Chris BoernerThe move is part of a cost-cutting and pipeline trimming initiative at Bristol Myers, which is working to reset its operations under new CEO Chris Boerner. Schrödinger announced the news with its first-quarter earnings results on Thursday.
“Today Schrödinger announced that the rights to the SOS1 inhibitor discovered and developed as part of the collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb have reverted to Schrödinger based on portfolio prioritization decisions at BMS,” Schrödinger wrote in its earnings release.
The SOS1 inhibitor was one of the original targets from the 2020 collaboration deal, which initially came with $55 million upfront and the potential for $2.7 billion in milestone payments. SOS1 is a protein that is involved in regulating the KRAS gene. Mutations to KRAS drive nearly a third of all cancers, and scientists hope that inhibiting SOS1 can be one way to fight those cancers.
Bristol Myers acquired a SOS1 inhibitor in Phase 1 studies from its $4.8 billion purchase of Mirati Therapeutics.
There are two remaining targets currently in the collaboration — one in neurology and one in immunology — according to an SEC filing from Schrödinger. The biotech company said it has recognized $25 million in revenue from milestones from the collaboration.
Schrödinger’s candidate was in preclinical studies that could set it up for clinical trials. The company said it plans to look at the data package from its SOS1 program before determining next steps.