Nanobiotix Shares Soar on Licensing Deal With J&J Unit

By Colin Kellaher

U.S.-listed shares of Nanobiotix surged in premarket trading Monday after the clinical-stage biotechnology company said it inked a licensing, co-development and commercialization agreement potentially worth billions of dollars with a unit of drug giant Johnson & Johnson.

Paris-based Nanobiotix said it will grant J&J's Janssen Pharmaceutical unit a worldwide license for the development and commercialization of NBTXR3, a radioenhancer currently being evaluated in several studies across solid tumor indications.

Nanobiotix said it will receive near-term cash and operational support valued up to $60 million, including a $30 million upfront cash licensing fee and up to $30 million in in-kind regulatory and development support for a current Phase 3 study evaluating NBTXR3 for the treatment of patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer.

Nanobiotix said it is eligible for up to $1.8 billion in payments related to potential development, regulatory and sales milestones, along with royalties on product sales.

The company said the agreement also includes a framework for up to $650 million in additional milestone payments for five new indications that Janssen may develop at its discretion, as well as up to $220 million per indication that Nanobiotix may develop in alignment with Janssen.

Nanobiotix's U.S.-listed shares, which closed Friday at $5.18, were recently up nearly 52% to $7.85 in premarket trading. The company's Paris-listed shares were up 53% to EUR7.15.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 10, 2023 06:42 ET (10:42 GMT)

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