Arcus Biosciences says Taiho exercises option for quemliclustat

Arcus Biosciences and Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. announced that Taiho exercised its option for quemliclustat, an investigational small molecule CD73 inhibitor, in Japan and certain other territories in Asia (excluding mainland China). This option exercise is based on an option and license agreement between Taiho and Arcus contracted in September 2017. This is the fourth option exercise by Taiho to an Arcus program. In exchange for the exclusive license of quemliclustat, Taiho will make an option exercise payment, as well as additional payments upon achievement of clinical, regulatory and commercialization milestones, and, if any products from the program are approved, will pay royalties on net sales of such products. Quemliclustat is an investigational small molecule CD73 inhibitor. In 2024, Arcus plans to initiate the global, registrational Phase 3 study PRISM-1, comparing quemliclustat plus chemotherapy to chemotherapy alone as a treatment for patients with previously untreated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Advancement to a Phase 3 study is based on overall survival results observed in the Phase 1b ARC-8 study that were presented earlier this year at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Through this collaboration, Taiho will further support the development and potential commercialization of quemliclustat and will operationalize the PRISM-1 study in Japan as part of its mission to deliver innovative drugs to patients and medical professionals.