Shares of Germany-based Affimed N.V. (NASDAQ:AFMD) are running fast in Tuesday morning trading, catalyzed by news after Monday's closing bell about a new partnership with Genentech, a unit of global drug giant Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY), to develop new cancer treatments. The plan is to use Affimed's ROCK (Redirected Optimized Cell Killing) platform, which facilitates the generation of both natural killer cell and T cell-engaging antibodies, to develop innate immune cell engager-based immunotherapies, an area of strong interest in recent years to destroy tumors by harnessing the power of the immune system.
According to Affimed, the collaboration "includes candidate products generated from Affimed's ROCK® platform and multiple undisclosed solid and hematologic tumor targets." Genentech is shouldering the expenses for clinical development and potential global commercialization of the new products.
To get access to the ROCK technology, Genentech has agreed to pay $96 million upfront and "other near-term committed funding." Payments to Affimed could reach $5 billion in the future, including milestone payments and sales royalties. Subject to customary conditions, the deal is expected to be closed this quarter.
"Our partnership with Affimed provides an opportunity to enhance our existing efforts to understand how the immune system can be activated to help people living with cancer," commented Dr. James Sabry, Global Head of Partnering at Roche, in a statement today.
Shares of AFMD have ripped ahead to a more than two-year high Tuesday morning, scoring a gain of 162.5% to $4.20 as of 11 AM in New York. Shares of Roche are up half a percent at $31.02.
