ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance based out in California, has announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Korean company Voronoi, Inc., an innovative drug discovery company dedicated to advancing novel therapeutics.

ORIC secured exclusive rights worldwide excluding the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan (the ORIC Territory) for the development and commercialization of ORIC-114, a brain penetrant, orally bioavailable, irreversible inhibitor designed to selectively target epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) with high potency against exon 20 insertion mutations.

ORIC expects to initiate a global Phase 1/2 tumor-agnostic trial in genetically defined cancers during the second half of 2021.

Under the terms of the agreement, in exchange for an exclusive license to develop and commercialize Voronoi’s EGFR and HER2 exon 20 inhibitor program in the ORIC Territory, ORIC paid to Voronoi a one-time payment comprising $5 million in cash and $8 million in shares of ORIC common stock. The number of shares issued to Voronoi was based on a price of $28.24 per share, representing a premium of 25% to the 30-day trailing volume-weighted average trading price of ORIC’s common stock.

In addition, ORIC will pay Voronoi success-based payments of up to $111 million in development and regulatory milestones and up to $225 million in sales milestones with respect to the first licensed product.