OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. signed a deal potentially worth more than $1.4 billion with GlaxoSmithKline plc to discover, develop and commercialize antibodies targeting cancer stem cells.

Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Redwood City, Calif.-based OncoMed will receive an up-front payment composed of cash and equity as well as potential milestones and double-digit royalties. In exchange for its cash, GSK gets an option to license four monoclonal antibodies targeting multiple cancer stem cell targets.

GSK's option includes OncoMed's lead product candidate, OMP-21M18, which is slated to begin clinical trials next year. In preclinical studies, the antibody has been shown to selectively block its undisclosed target, resulting in a reduction in tumor initiating cells and bulk tumor cell populations.

OncoMed will continue to develop OMP-21M18, as well as its subsequent product candidates, through clinical proof of concept. GSK then would have an exclusive option to license four products, taking over subsequent development and worldwide commercialization, although OncoMed retained the right to participate in the development and commercialization of OMP-21M18.

Founded in 2004 by Michael Clarke and Max Wicha of the University of Michigan, OncoMed previously raised $13.9 million in a Series A financing. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 8, 2005.)

ImmunoVaccine Nabs Immunotope

ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. agreed to acquire Immunotope Inc., combining the two companies' efforts in vaccine development.

Both companies are privately-held, and terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Halifax, Nova Scotia-based ImmunoVaccine is best-known for its VacciMax vaccine platform, which uses liposomes to enhance humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. The approach has been tested in various cancer and infectious disease models, and ImmunoVaccine is in the process of optimizing and validating the manufacturing process to prepare for clinical trials.

Doylestown, Pa.-based Immunotope is conducting a Phase I trial with IMT-1012, a multivalent therapeutic cancer vaccine that combines 12 antigens each targeting different pathways in ovarian and breast tumors. The product arose from Immunotope's panels of tumor signature antigens, which also can be used to develop biomarker-based diagnostics. The company is using grant funding to pursue identification of autoantibody signatures associated with ovarian and prostate cancers for use in diagnostics; it is also collaborating with partners to apply its platform to infectious diseases.

ImmunoVaccine said it would continue to support Immunotope's ongoing Phase I trial. The deal is expected to close in June 2008.