Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), a prolific dealmaker in the immuno-oncology field, has agreed to pay US$50 M in upfront and near-term payments to secure an option to acquire F-star Alpha and its lead asset FS102, a Phase I-ready antibody fragment targeting human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) for the treatment of HER2-positive breast and gastric cancers. FS102 aims to overcome resistance developed against currently available HER2-targeted therapies with a unique mechanism of inducing apoptosis in HER2-positive tumour cells. F-star Alpha is an asset-centric spin-out of antibody engineering company F-star Biotechnology.