Servier has entered into a global licensing agreement worth up to $780m with Black Diamond Therapeutics for BDTX-4933, an investigational targeted therapy for solid tumours.
The deal includes an upfront payment of $70m, with the potential for up to $710m in development and commercial milestone payments. Black Diamond Therapeutics will also be entitled to receive tiered royalties on global net sales.
Black Diamond Therapeutics president and CEO Mark Velleca said: “This agreement supports our mission to advance oral cancer therapies designed to give patients the opportunity for longer, healthier, and more active lives.
“Servier’s commitment to innovation and deep expertise in oncology make it an ideal partner for Black Diamond as we work to develop breakthrough cancer treatments.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Servier will oversee the clinical development and worldwide commercialisation of BDTX-4933 across multiple indications, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Servier research and development executive vice-president Claude Bertrand said: “At Servier, we are dedicated to transforming patient care in areas with significant unmet needs. Our partnership to develop BDTX-4933 is an important opportunity in targeted cancer therapies, as we believe we can serve more people by helping the right patients find the right treatment, at the right time.
“We look forward to accelerating the development of this therapy as a potential best-in-class treatment for cancer patients.”
Black Diamond Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology company listed on Nasdaq (BDTX), specialises in MasterKey therapies designed to target families of oncogenic mutations in cancer patients.
BDTX-4933 is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials, assessing its safety, tolerability, and early efficacy in adult patients with recurrent, advanced, or metastatic cancers harbouring BRAF, CRAF, or NRAS mutations. The study also aims to establish the recommended Phase 2 dosage.
The investigational therapy is a next-generation RAF inhibitor, developed to overcome the limitations of earlier treatments. It selectively targets RAF dimer conformations promoted by upstream oncogenic alterations such as KRAS, NRAS, and NF1 mutations.
Preclinical data suggest that BDTX-4933 inhibits tumour cell proliferation by blocking RAF hetero- and homo-dimers, leading to sustained ERK phosphorylation inhibition without paradoxical activation.
BDTX-4933 has shown significant central nervous system (CNS) penetration, contributing to dose-dependent tumour growth inhibition and improved survival outcomes in preclinical models.
Studies using patient-derived xenografts (PDX) have demonstrated tumour regression across various BRAF, KRAS, NRAS, and NF1 mutant tumours, including cases resistant to prior BRAF and MEK inhibitor therapies.
The agreement strengthens Servier’s oncology portfolio, expanding its presence in precision medicine. Meanwhile, Black Diamond Therapeutics continues to develop its broader pipeline, which includes BDTX-1535, a Phase 2 candidate targeting EGFR-mutant NSCLC and glioblastoma.
