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(Adds details about $170 payment to Surface)
By John Miller
ZURICH, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Novartis AG has strucka $170 million alliance with U.S.-based Surface Oncology as itseeks to boost its portfolio of medicines that help the body'simmune system fight cancer.
The accord, which it announced on Monday, gives Novartisaccess to four pre-clinical programmes aiming to help preventtumours from evading the immune system, including one thattargets so-called regulatory T cell populations that can migrateinto tumours and impair the body's ability to fight the disease.
Novartis has been expanding its cancer-fighting arsenal bystriking deals with smaller companies as it races to keep pacewith rivals including Roche, Merck andBristol Myers.
Last year, Novartis acquired Admune Therapeutics and forgedlicensing agreements with small drug developers Xoma andPalobiofarma as part of this same push.
"This alliance is another building block in our strategy todevelop a portfolio of programs that we believe will lead thenext wave of immuno-oncology medicines," said Mark Fishman,president of Novartis's research arm, on the deal with Surface.
Surface Oncology Chief Executive Officer DetlevBiniszkiewicz was previously head of oncology strategy atAstraZeneca and a former manager at Novartis underFishman.
The Surface programmes that Novartis is buying access toalso focus on inhibitory cytokines, which help suppress immuneresponse, and immunosuppressive metabolites that may contributeto a cancer's ability to survive.
Novartis plans to test Surfaces' investigatory therapies asstand-alone monotherapies, as well as in combination with otherdrugs within its portfolios, the Swiss company said.
Under the terms of the agreement, Surface is eligible toreceive up to $170 million in upfront, equity, and near-termmilestone payments, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Surface saidin a statement.
Surface is also eligible to get up to double-digit royaltieson product sales, it said, adding the company has the option toretain U.S. development and commercialisation rights for atleast half of the collaboration's programs. (Reporting by Michael Shields and John Miller in Zurich;Editing by Joshua Franklin and Alexander Smith)
