Partnerships
TME Pharma Grants TMS Six Months of Exclusivity for NOX-A12 in €150,000 Deal
By News Desk ·
Key takeaways
- TME Pharma will receive a non-refundable €150,000 fee from TMS Co., Ltd. for a six-month exclusive negotiation period on NOX-A12.
- Non-binding terms include about €10 million in short-term payments and more than €100 million in regulatory and commercial milestones.
- TMS will create a subsidiary to fund and resume the GLORIA Phase 2 study of NOX-A12 in glioblastoma.
TME Pharma has signed a binding exclusive negotiation agreement with Japanese clinical-stage biotech TMS Co., Ltd. covering worldwide rights to its glioblastoma drug NOX-A12, receiving €150,000 for six months of exclusivity. The Berlin company announced the agreement on October 29, 2026, according to GlobeNewswire.
How the TMS Exclusivity Agreement Works
Under the binding agreement, TME Pharma will not solicit or accept offers from third parties, or hold licensing, development or commercialization discussions with anyone other than TMS and its subsidiary, during the six-month period. The exclusivity can be extended with additional payments.
The two companies also signed a non-binding letter of intent setting out terms that remain subject to renegotiation. At signing of a definitive agreement, TME Pharma would receive about €10 million in short-term payments, a combination of cash and an equity and debt stake in the TMS subsidiary. The terms include more than €100 million in regulatory and commercial sales-linked milestones, royalties of 8% to 10% on sales that TME Pharma projects to peak at about $1 billion, and a share of sublicense royalties collected by the subsidiary.
TMS will form the subsidiary to lead the financing process, and TME Pharma will continue developing NOX-A12 as a partner and minority shareholder. The companies set a roadmap to finalize the definitive agreement, which they describe as a key step toward resuming the Phase 2 GLORIA study of NOX-A12.
"En choisissant TMS Co. Ltd., nous pensons avoir trouvé un excellent partenaire pour exploiter pleinement le potentiel du NOX-A12 et relancer la création de valeur en reprenant le développement clinique pour le glioblastome," said Diede van den Ouden, CEO.
NOX-A12 Data Behind the Deal
According to akta.pro company records, results from the GLORIA Phase 1/2 expansion Arm A were published in Nature Communications in April 2026, reporting median overall survival of 19.9 months versus 9.5 months for standard of care, with p=0.003, for NOX-A12 plus radiotherapy and bevacizumab in newly diagnosed MGMT-unmethylated glioblastoma. The same records list 17 funding rounds, including a $2.6 million grant in October 2024 led by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.
TME Pharma's Partner Search Before TMS
On August 24, 2026, TME Pharma said it had narrowed its search for a partner for NOX-A12 to two suitors in the final evaluation phase of advanced discussions, FierceBiotech reported. A separate August 24, 2026 update said the company had entered the final evaluation phase of discussions with two potential partners to license NOX-A12 for glioblastoma treatment, FinanzNachrichten.de reported.
What Comes Next for the GLORIA Study
The companies agreed on a roadmap to finalize the definitive agreement, which they state is a key step toward restarting the Phase 2 GLORIA study of NOX-A12. TME Pharma said the subsidiary will lead the financing process for that development.