BMS Takes Option On Cancer Vaccine

In a potential addition to its growing cancer immunotherapy pipeline, Bristol-Myers Squibb has paid $60 million for an option to license Bavarian Nordic’s Prostvac, a prostate cancer vaccine in a Phase III study. If BMS opts in to the program, Bavarian Nordic will get another $80 million payment. All told, the Danish biotech could see nearly $1 billion if Prostvac is successful. The companies may combine Prostvac with other agents in BMS’s immuno-oncology portfolio. Last month, BMS inked deals with Flexus Biosciences and Rigel Pharmaceuticals to add small-molecule immunotherapies to its roster.