BioLineRx Ltd. announced the closing of an exclusive license agreement with Guangzhou Gloria Biosciences Co. Ltd. (GloriaBio) and an associated investor for the development of motixafortide across all indications in Asia. Motixafortide is a novel, high-affinity CXCR4 inhibitor that received approval for its first indication in September 2023 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for stem cell mobilization (SCM) in autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in patients with multiple myeloma.

Motixafortide is also being studied for other potential uses in oncologic and hematologic diseases. The license agreement provides for a $15 million upfront payment (which was received at closing), up to $50 million in potential development and regulatory milestones in China and Japan, and up to $200 million in potential commercial milestones based on defined sales targets. BioLineRx is also eligible to receive tiered double-digit royalties on net sales.

In addition, the transaction included an equity investment of $14.6 million in BioLineRx through the purchase of newly issued American Depositary Shares (ADSs) at a price of $2.136 per ADS in a private placement. No warrants were issued in the transaction. Along with the investment, the purchaser received the right to appoint one representative to the BioLineRx Board of Directors.

Under the terms of the license agreement, GloriaBio will be responsible for development and commercialization of motixafortide in Asia initially in SCM. With the recent FDA approval of APHEXDA for this indication, GloriaBio plans to initiate a bridging study to support potential approval and commercialization of motixafortide in the licensed territories in SCM for ASCT in patients with multiple myeloma. In addition, GloriaBio plans to initiate a Phase 2/3 first-line pancreatic cancer clinical trial evaluating motixafortide in combination with PD-1 inhibitor zimberelimab and standard of care combination chemotherapy.

BioLineRx has been developing motixafortide in combination with PD-1 inhibitors and standard of care combination chemotherapies in pancreatic cancer, and recently announced the initiation of a randomized Phase 2 clinical trial sponsored by Columbia University in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer based on promising preliminary data from a single-arm pilot phase reported on September 29 at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer.