On September 13, 2022 METiS Therapeutics, a Boston-area company integrating drug discovery and delivery with AI and machine learning, reported they have entered a license agreement with Voronoi, Inc., a Korean company focused on precision medicine (Press release, METiS Therapeutics, SEP 13, 2022, View Source [SID1234648430]). Under the terms of this license agreement, METiS will receive exclusive license to develop and commercialize Voronoi’s pan-RAF inhibitor program worldwide. In exchange, Voronoi will receive up to $1.7 million in upfront cash and success-based near-term discovery milestones. Voronoi will also be eligible for success-based payment up to $480.5 million in development, regulatory and sales milestones and tiered royalties based on annual net sales.

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"We view this program as a potential best-in-class asset addressing high unmet clinical needs for Class II and Class III BRAF mutant cancer patients, particularly those with CNS metastasis," said Chris Lai, CoFounder and CEO of METiS Therapeutics. "We see it as a compelling proof-of-concept opportunity for our AiTEM platform to improve compound pharmacokinetics and deliver a differentiated profile, including CNS penetration. In addition, we view this as a foundational asset for our oncology portfolio."

BRAF is a protein kinase involved in cancer cell growth and BRAF mutations are the most common mutation found in tumor cells[1]. While several BRAF v600E inhibitors have been approved, this mutation only represents about 45% of total BRAF mutations, compared to Class II and III mutations which represent 55 percent of total BRAF mutations. This underscores the need for new therapeutic options in this space.

"We developed our structurally distinguished type II pan-RAF inhibitor to address unmet medical needs, and this partnership brings us closer to our goal of delivering this candidate to patients," says Daekwon Kim, CEO of Voronoi. "We are excited to partner with METiS’ seasoned team to continue on development of our pan-RAF inhibitor." added Daekwon."We developed our structurally distinguished type II pan-RAF inhibitor to address unmet medical needs, and this partnership brings us closer to our goal of delivering this candidate to patients," says Daekwon Kim, CEO of Voronoi. "We are excited to partner with METiS’ seasoned team to continue on development of our pan-RAF inhibitor." added Daekwon.

This news follows METiS’ announcement that the company had joined the Roche Accelerator earlier this year. In December, METiS closed an $86 million Series A financing round. The company recently leased 14,000 square feet of mixed office and laboratory space at 101 Cambridgepark Drive in Cambridge, MA.14,