Lycera, Celgene announce exclusive collaboration

Lycera Corporation today partnered with Celgene Corporation to move Lycera's exclusive pipeline for cancer and immune-mediated diseases forward.

"We are very excited to begin a partnership with Lycera, a company that has created two programs based on great, potentially breakthrough science," George Golumbeski, senior vice president of business development and licensing at Celgene, said. "The collaboration structure utilized here allows us to work very closely with Lycera to expand and progress their programs... ."

Lycera discovered selective and potent oral agonists that target RORgamma, a master control switch of immune system activation, for the possible treatment of a range of cancers.

Lycera will receive $82.5 million upfront cash payment under the terms of the agreement. This payment includes an exclusive option for Celgene to license Lycera's portfolio of ex vivo RORgamma agonist compounds.

"Lycera is making rapid progress in advancing novel oral immune modulatory compounds for the treatment of cancer and immune disease, which are highly complementary to Celgene's platform," Tom Daniel, president of Research & Early Development at Celgene, said. "The collaboration will allow further acceleration of these efforts, with the ultimate goal of realizing a substantial impact on patient care."