US-based company Cue Biopharma has entered a strategic research collaboration and licence agreement with Merck to focus on the development of new biologics for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
Cue Biopharma is an immunotherapy company that focuses on the development of new, proprietary class of biologics that are engineered to selectively modulate the human immune system in order to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases.
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Under the deal, the company’s CUE Biologics platform will be used to develop biologics that would be engineered to selectively modulate disease-relevant T-cell subsets for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
The multi-year partnership will include a wide range of disease targets across certain primary disease indication areas.
The specific financial arrangements of the transaction have not yet been disclosed.
However, with the completion of the transaction, Cue Biopharma will receive an up-front payment and be eligible to receive up to $374m in research, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments in addition to tiered royalties on sales, if all pre-specified milestones associated with multiple products across the primary disease indication areas are achieved.
The firm is developing biologics that mimic antigen presenting cells (APCs) to selectively and effectively deliver signals to disease-associated T-cells.
The highly targeted and selective T-cell responses can lead to the development of more effective and safer therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases.
In the case of cancer treatment, CUE Biologics are designed to selectively activate disease-associated T-cells to proliferate and attack tumour cells.
For the treatment of autoimmune diseases, the platform is designed to selectively ablate disease-associated T-cell responses directed against self-tissue.
