Incyte inks $25M deal for cancer drug

Incyte brought the rights to Monjuvi for $25 million in early Feb. PHOTO COURTESY OF INCYTE

WILMINGTON — After collaborating with MorphoSys on a developing cancer treatment Monjuvi, Incyte has bought full rights to develop the immunotherapy and bring it to market.

The Wilmington-based company bought the rights to Monjuvi, which is marketed outside the United States as Minjuvi, for $25 million in early February. The drug is the German pharmaceutical firm’s lone commercial product, and was bought out by another cancer drugmaker Novartis this month.

Monjuvi is infused to treat adult patients with a certain type of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma —a cancer of the lymphatic system — that does not respond to previous treatments or has returned. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug to be used with oral drug lenalidomide to treat patients with this cancer and cannot receive a stem cell transplant.

MorphoSys reported Monjuvi brought in $92 million last year in the United States alone. Under terms of the agreement, Incyte will now see all revenue from Monjuvi and all expenses for its future development. MorphoSys will no longer be eligible to receive profit split or royalty payments.

Monjuvi is also in phase 3 clinical trials for various types of lymphoma including follicular lymphoma and relapsed or refractory marginal zone lymphoma.

“This new agreement with MorphoSys provides Incyte with exclusive global rights to [Monjuvi] and full control over its development and commercialization, allowing us to realize significant operating efficiencies and cost synergies,” Incyte CEO Hervé Hoppenot said in a prepared statement.

Since 2020, Incyte has collaborated with cancer drugmaker MorphoSys on clinical development and commercialization of Monujvi. The Delaware pharma company has been seeking ways to get an edge in the race to find a new cancer drug, and has signed deals with other companies to improve technology and the possibility of viable products in the long run.

Incyte’s marquee success was Jakafi, the bone marrow cancer drug that has become a billion-dollar success story. The drug landed sales at $2.6 billion in 2023, a 8% increase from the previous year, and another key drug, Opzelura, is gaining ground with $338 million in sales last year.