BIND Therapeutics, Pfizer announce global collaboration

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—BIND Therapeutics, which changed its namethis month from BIND Biosciences, has announced the establishment of a globalcollaboration agreement with Pfizer Inc. for the development andcommercialization of Accurins, using select small molecule-targeted therapies.Accurins are BIND's highly selective targeted and programmable therapeutics,and the partnership will seek to use BIND's Medicinal Nanoengineering platformto imbue molecularly targeted drugs with tissue and cellular targeting capabilities.

"Pfizer has a strong legacy in targeted small-moleculedrug discovery and development, and continues to be on the cutting edge ofinnovation in this area," Rod MacKenzie, senior vice president and head ofPharmaTherapeutics R&D at Pfizer, said in a press release. "We lookforward to working with the team at BIND Therapeutics to create targetedAccurins with the aim of optimizing the therapeutic potential of future smallmolecules."

Per the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will receive anexclusive option to pursue the development and commercialization of theAccurins chosen by its team. BIND and Pfizer will collaborate on thepreclinical research, and should Pfizer choose to exercise its option, it willbe responsible for the development and commercialization of the selectedAccurins. BIND stands to receive upfront and milestone payments ofapproximately $50 million and approximately $160 million in regulatory andsales milestone payments for each commercialized Accurin, in addition to tieredroyalties on potential future sales.

"Pfizer—a global leader in the development of innovative,molecularly targeted therapies—is an outstanding partner, and this agreementdemonstrates the potential of our platform to create targeted Accurins withoptimized therapeutic properties," Scott Minick, president and CEO of BIND,commented in a statement. "This is our second collaboration focused ondeveloping novel Accurins based on BIND's platform for targeted andprogrammable therapeutics, and further validates the importance of targetednanomedicines as a strategic technology for the pharmaceutical industry."

BIND describes Accurins as "targeted and programmabletherapeutics with precisely controlled pharmacokinetic and biodistributionproperties that have the potential to outperform conventional drugs byselectively accumulating in diseased tissues and cells." the result, BIND noteson its website, is "higher concentrations of API at the site of action whileminimizing off-target exposure, leading to markedly better efficacy andsafety," with minimized toxicities.

BIND notes that its new existence as BIND Therapeuticsreflects "the Company's progress in applying its Medicinal Nanoengineeringplatform." Simultaneously, BIND has also announced that it has brought onGregory I. Berk, M.D., as its chief medical officer.

"The new name, BIND Therapeutics, conveys the company'sleadership and advancement in developing novel Accurins with unique therapeuticproperties by selectively accumulating in diseased tissues and cells, resultingin high drug concentrations at the site of action with low off-target exposure,leading to markedly better efficacy and safety," said Minick in a press releaseregarding the name change. "Our lead product candidate, BIND-014, has completeda Phase I clinical study in cancer patients, and we are initiating Phase IIclinical trials in multiple solid tumor types. In addition, we are alsodeveloping Accurins in collaboration with pharmaceutical and biotechnologypartners, including Amgen, to enable their promising pipeline candidates toachieve their full potential."