Nanobiotix has tweaked the terms of a licensing deal with Johnson & Johnson over the French biotech’s phase 3-stage cancer drug in order to keep the cash flowing through to next year.
The radiotherapy-activated drug, dubbed JNJ-1900 or NBTXR3, is currently undergoing a late-stage trial in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell cancers. With Nanobiotix previously dogged by doubts about its ability to fund the trial through to the delivery of interim data, the biotech accepted an upfront payment from J&J of $30 million and the prospect of $2.7 billion milestone payments in return for the global rights to the candidate back in 2023.
But, with the 53.2 million euros ($58.2 million) that Nanobiotix had at the end of September 2024 set to run out by the end of this year, the biotech had been searching for more ways to keep the cash flowing. In a postmarket release March 17, the company said it had amended the agreement with J&J to remove Nanobiotix’s commitment to contribute to the funding of JNJ-1900.
J&J will now pick up almost the full tab for the phase 3 trial, and, in return, Nanobiotix will see the potential milestone payments that could come its way drop $105 million to $2.6 billion. Shares in Nanobiotix were up around 9% in European trading Tuesday morning.
The phase 3 trial represented a “significant portion of the company’s operating costs,” Nanobiotix explained in a release. With this burden removed, the biotech expects its cash will now stretch into the middle of next year.
“The revised licensing terms with Johnson & Johnson ensure operational alignment given changes in [phase 3 trial] responsibilities while preserving key milestone opportunities and extending Nanobiotix cash visibility into mid-2026,” Bart Van Rhijn, Nanobiotix’s chief financial and business officer, said in the release.
“We are pleased by what we view as a favorable cost of capital resulting from this amendment,” Van Rhijn added. “We are continuing to evaluate additional, preferably non-dilutive, financial solutions to further extend runway into 2027 and ensure our path to sustainable revenue through the hundreds of millions in potential milestone payments related to our lead programs expected in the coming years.”
NBTXR3 is a suspension of metabolically inert nanosized particles that feature a core designed to boost the local absorption of ionizing radiation and a coating to facilitate entry into tumor cells. When injected into tumors, the particles interact with X-rays, driving the generation of more electrons than happens in conventional radiotherapy.
The milestones from the deal break down to around $1.7 billion for jumping various development, regulatory and sales hurdles; $650 million related to five further indications for the drug to be decided by J&J; and $165 million specifically tied to the drug’s progress in China, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.