US-based oncology specialist Incyte has signed an exclusive global licence agreement to develop MacroGenics’ Phase I PD-1 (programmed cell death-1) inhibitor MGA012 in a deal worth up to US$900 M, including US$150 M upfront. Owning a PD-1 inhibitor is key to Incyte’s combination strategy in immuno-oncology and the deal follows the publication of Phase I data for the PD-1 inhibitor INCSHR01210, which the company in-licensed from Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine in September 2015, that demonstrated that the drug candidate was associated with an elevated risk of skin capillary hemangioma.