Benzinga | Aug 25, 2021 11:16AM EDT

iBio Expands Immuno-Oncology Pipeline With RubrYc Deal

* iBio Inc (NYSE:IBIO) has signed an exclusive license agreement with RubrYc Therapeutics Inc for RTX-003, an immunotherapy candidate targeting regulatory T cells (Tregs).

* Related: IBio Adds Three Cancer Antibody Programs.

* iBio plans to use its development and manufacturing capabilities to advance anti-CD25 antibody RTX-003 as IBIO-101 in the Phase 1 trial.

* Initiation of IND-enabling studies is expected by mid-2022.

* The partnership also includes an option agreement for iBio to license additional antibodies built using RubrYc's artificial intelligence-based antibody discovery platform.

* As part of the agreements, iBio paid $5 million upfront, with an additional $2.5 million commitment for December 2021. iBio will also acquire an equity stake in RubrYc.

* RubrYc is eligible to receive certain pre-specified payments upon achievement of development milestones for IBIO-101, as well as royalties on net sales of that molecule and other licensed antibodies.

* Price Action: IBIO shares are up 1.98% at $1.28 during the market session on the last check Wednesday.