Thousand Oaks biotech company Amgen formed a potential $500 million partnership with Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH to research and develop next-generation, T-cell engaging bispecific immunotherapies targeting multiple cancers, the company announced on Jan. 9.

Under the terms of the agreement, Immatics will receive $30 million upfront and can receive more than $500 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments for each program and tiered royalties up to a double-digit percentage of net sales.

“The intersection of immunology and oncology represents a promising and rapidly developing approach that can have a significant impact for patients with cancer,” Dr. Sean Harper, executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen, said in a news release. “We look forward to collaborating with Immatics to translate their unique target and TCR discovery capabilities combined with Amgen’s validated BiTE® technology into novel therapies.”

Amgen will develop, manufacture and commercialize the oncology drugs worldwide.

Amgen shares went up 1.3 percent to $158.84 on Jan. 9.

• Contact Alex Kacik at akacik@pacbiztimes.com.