NEW YORK – Twist Bioscience said Tuesday that it has entered into a royalty purchase agreement with Xoma Royalty.
Under the terms of the deal, Xoma will provide Twist an upfront payment of $15 million in cash in exchange for the right to receive half of the future potential milestone and royalty payments resulting from Twist's existing antibody discovery and biopharma services collaborations. Twist will retain all upfront, service, and other revenue earned under those collaborations. Twist also retains full rights to any future biopharma collaborations that include milestone and royalty terms.
The agreement does not apply to any synthetic biology, next-generation sequencing, or data storage revenue.
"This unique agreement provides Twist Bioscience with capital today that will add to our balance sheet and enable continued innovation for profitable growth across the company," Twist CEO and Cofounder Emily Leproust said in a statement. "Xoma Royalty's proven expertise in early-stage royalty monetization makes them an ideal partner for this venture."
As of June 30, Twist had $239.2 million in cash and cash equivalents and $50.3 million in short-term investments.
In 2023 Twist signed an antibody discovery and licensing option agreement with Bayer worth up to $188 million in clinical and commercial milestone payments plus royalties. However, in its fiscal third quarter, Twist took a $44.9 million noncash impairment charge related to biopharma assets.
In Tuesday morning trading on the Nasdaq, shares of Twist were down 2 percent at $44.37.