Pfizer and eFFECTOR Therapeutics Enter $507 Million Collaboration to Develop eIF4E Small Molecule Inhibitors

On January 9, eFFECTOR Therapeutics announced that it had entered into an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement with Pfizer to jointly develop small-molecule inhibitors of eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E).

Under the terms of the agreement, eFFECTOR will receive a $15 million upfront payment and be eligible for potential milestone payments totaling up to $492 million for research, development, and commercialization. Upon successful commercialization of the product, eFFECTOR will also receive royalties on product sales.

eFFECTOR Therapeutics Pipeline (Source: eFFECTOR Official Website)

eIF4E is a cap-binding protein that specifically recognizes the 5' cap structure of mRNA and plays a crucial role in the initiation of eukaryotic translation. As an effector protein, eIF4E integrates signals from multiple key oncogenes and tumor suppressor proteins within the PI3K and RAS signaling pathways, including PI3K, AKT, mTOR, PTEN, and BRAF.

In September 2017, eFFECTOR Therapeutics secured $38.6 million in Series C financing, led by the Pfizer Venture Investments fund.