Servier bags a Black Diamond in the rough

When Black Diamond deprioritised BDTX-4933 in October it looked like the end for this brain-penetrant RAF inhibitor – but Servier has come to the rescue. On Wednesday the French group licensed the project for $70m up front, citing best-in-class potential for tumours with RAS mutations and RAF alterations, including non-small-cell lung cancer. Servier has presumably seen promising data from an ongoing phase 1 solid tumour trial, which had been due to report last year, although nothing is yet in the public domain. Approved RAF inhibitors include Day One’s Ojemda, indicated for second-line BRAF-positive paediatric glioma. Given BDTX-4933’s CNS penetrance it will be interesting to see whether Servier pursues brain cancer indications; the group already has a presence here with the IDH1/2 inhibitor Voranigo, which came via the $1.8bn purchase of Agios’s oncology business in 2020. This was the last big deal for Servier, and Voranigo’s blockbuster potential only became apparent following its approval last August. The company will no doubt hope to have bagged another bargain in BDTX-4933, but there’s still a long way to go. Black Diamond, which is now focused on the fourth-generation EGFR inhibitor BDTX-1535, saw its stock open 40% on Wednesday morning.