AVEO Oncology, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company, has formed an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with Novartis for the development and commercialization of AVEO's AV-380, an humanized inhibitory antibody targeting growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) as well as related antibodies, including modified or derivative forms of AV-380.

Under the agreement, AVEO will receive an upfront payment of $15 million and will be eligible to receive reimbursement, clinical, sales, and regulatory-based milestone payments totaling $311 million assuming successful advancement of AV-380  AVEO will also be eligible to receive tiered royalties on product sales ranging from high single-digits to a low double-digits. Novartis will be responsible for all clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization activities and costs associated with the product.

GDF15 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine whose elevated circulating levels have been correlated with cachexia in cachectic cancer patients and several animal models of cancer cachexia. Current evidence suggests that a pro-inflammatory state may be responsible for many of the symptoms associated with cachexia. Preclinical data show that inhibition of GDF15 results in a switch from catabolism to anabolism, suggesting that GDF15 inhibition with AV-380 may reverse the effects of cachexia.

Source: AVEO Oncology

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