Bionomics , a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel, first-in-class, allosteric ion channel modulators to treat patients suffering from serious central nervous system (CNS) disorders with high unmet medical need, today announced that it received a milestone payment of AUS$1M from Carina Biotech for BNC101, one of their partnered legacy oncology programs.

On October 30, 2024, Carina Biotech, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing CAR-T and other cell therapies for the treatment of solid cancers, made a milestone payment of AUS$1M to Bionomics. The milestone payment was made under the terms of the exclusive, worldwide license agreement for BNC101, a monoclonal antibody targeting the cancer stem cell antigen LGR5, between the Company and Carina Biotech signed on November 2020. Carina Biotech’s LGR5-targeted CAR-T cell therapy CNA3103 is currently in development for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Based on the agreement, Bionomics is eligible to receive up to approximately AUS$118 million in certain development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments if Carina Biotech fully develops and markets the new therapy.

“This milestone payment from Carina Biotech is another testament to the strong research capabilities which have spawned from Bionomics’ scientific expertise, and we are very pleased to receive this payment as part of the research collaborations we have ongoing for our legacy oncology program,” said Spyros Papapetropoulos, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of Bionomics.“ In addition to the partnered oncology programs we have, our long-standing strategic partnership with Merck for the development of α7 receptor PAMs targeting cognitive dysfunction associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other central nervous system conditions valued at ~US $500M, is quickly advancing and we look forward to its anticipated Phase 2 studies initiation in the near future, triggering a sizable milestone payment for Bionomics.”

Pursuant to the exclusive licensing agreement for BNC101, Carina Biotech is also obligated to pay royalties to Bionomics on its net sales of licensed products, on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis, ranging from the low single digits to the mid-single digits, subject to certain specified deductions. Royalties are payable until the later of expiration of all licensed patents covering the licensed products, or expiration of all data exclusivity with respect to the licensed product. If Carina Biotech enters into one or more sublicensing agreements relating to the licensed product, Bionomics is eligible to receive a percentage of sublicensing revenues.