NEW YORK — CytoDyn said on Monday that it has signed a nonbinding agreement to license its humanized antibody-based cancer and HIV drug leronlimab to IncellDx for diagnostic applications.
Leronlimab — also known as PRO 140 — is a CCR5 antagonist that CytoDyn is developing as part of a combination treatment for patients with CCR5-positive metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. According to the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company, the drug also appears to block HIV R5 — the predominant strain of the virus — from infecting T cells, and holds potential for preventing acute graft-versus-host disease.
Under the terms of the deal, CytoDyn will license and supply noncommercial grade leronlimab, along with the murine version of the antibody, to San Carlos, California-based IncellDx for use in assays to determine the presence of CCR5 on cancer tissue and the receptor occupancy level for HIV patients.
Additional terms were not disclosed. A definitive agreement is expected to be signed this month.
"Our nonbinding agreement with IncellDx … may lead to our first ever product revenues," CytoDyn President and CEO Nader Pourhassan said in a statement. "Each diagnostic test may use 20 [micrograms] of PRO 140, implying significant revenue opportunity for CytoDyn since any use of leronlimab for commercial purposes will require this diagnostic test."
IncellDx Founder and CEO Bruce Patterson added that his company intends to use leronlimab-based tests "throughout our franchise, including in diagnostic tests that we will be conducting for major pharmaceutical and life science companies."