Following today’s news (18 May) that Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has exclusively licensed Agenus’ bispecific anti-TIGIT antibody, AGEN1777, for up to $1.36bn;

Sakis Paliouras, PhD, Senior Oncology & Hematology Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data, and analytics company, offers his view:

“BMS is betting big on the potential of bispecific technology to increase its already high share of the immuno-oncology market, putting down $200m in an upfront payment and up to $1.36bn in development milestones. Such large deals are not common for preclinical molecules, but the potential upside for BMS – if it finds an efficacy signal – is huge. AGEN1777’s second antigen target was not disclosed, but it is likely one that BMS believes can give it an edge over the current anti-TIGIT competition.

“BMS’ lead checkpoint inhibitor molecule, Opdivo, is forecast to have strong sales growth well into 2026, but that is contingent upon finding new combinations to tackle Opdivo-refractory/resistant patient segments. BMS has its own internal anti-TIGIT program, BMS-986207, and is trying to diversify its portfolio further with AGEN1777.

“According to high-prescribing physicians surveyed by GlobalData, a combination of checkpoint inhibitors with another checkpoint modulator is the most promising approach to improve current checkpoint inhibitors. Bispecific targeting also topped the most promising research and development (R&D) strategies ranking in the same survey. Key opinion leaders interviewed were more reserved, given disappointing single-efficacy results from other anti-TIGIT antibodies but recognized the enormous promise of the bispecific technology to optimize checkpoint modulation.

“Agenus previously intended to bring AGEN1777 to the clinic following an investigational drug application in June 2021. BMS is extremely well positioned to accelerate AGEN1777’s clinical pathway and combine it with other immunotherapy modalities to identify its best shot at an oncology authorization.”