Ipsen is acquiring next-gen immuno-oncology biotech ImCheck Therapeutics for its investigational cancer combination therapy in a deal worth up to 1 billion euros (about $1.16 billion).
The French pharma is welcoming the private biotech into the fold, with the buyout centered on ImCheck’s lead clinical-stage program in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to an Oct. 22 release. The companies tout the potential of the asset, coded ICT01, in combination with venetoclax and azacitidine, to serve as a new standard of care for patients with first-line AML who can’t receive intensive chemotherapy.
In an ongoing phase 1/2 trial called Eviction, the ICT01 combo was tied to “high response rates” in adverse-risk patients, according to interim data shared earlier this year. The single-arm study saw treatment responses nearly double relative to those seen in historical standard of care data across all subtypes in newly diagnosed patients. The investigational combination also appears to be well tolerated.
Now, Ipsen will take the monoclonal antibody on as its own, with plans to launch a phase 2b/3 trial next year, the pharma’s CEO, David Loew, said in the release.
“At completion, the acquisition of ImCheck Therapeutics presents an opportunity for us to expand our pipeline in oncology and reinforces our commitment to deliver transformative therapies to the people who need them most,” Loew said.
The pharma will pay ImCheck shareholders 350 million euros (about $406 million) at deal close, which is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2026. Ipsen is also offering the French biotech the chance to earn money tied to certain regulatory approvals and sales-based milestones for a deal total of up to 1 billion euros (about $1.16 billion).
"The acquisition of ImCheck strengthens the oncology division and is interesting (new generation antibodies), even if it is a competitive therapeutic area," European financial analyst ODDO BHF wrote Oct. 22.
As for ImCheck, the biotech is “thrilled to become part of Ipsen,” CEO Pierre d’Epenoux said in the release, adding that joining the pharma will help “accelerate ICT01 toward registrational studies and commercialization.”
The anti-BTN3A mAb holds first-in-class potential and has snagged orphan drug tags from both the FDA and the European Medicines Agency.
The lead program is part of ImCheck’s broader efforts to develop immunotherapeutic antibodies targeting butyrophilins, a novel “superfamily” of immunomodulators, according to the biotech. The company believes its strategy using γ9δ2 T cells can transform treatment across several indications, with preclinical pipeline programs in autoimmune and infectious diseases.
ImCheck is backed by numerous European and U.S. investors, including Pfizer Ventures, EQT Life Sciences, Earlybird, Wellington Partners, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Kurma Partners and Alexandria Venture Investments, among others.
Most recently, the biotech closed a $103 million series C fundraising round in 2022, money used to expand the study for ICT01.