The share price for NewLink Genetics (NLNK) has been rising since August 14, 2014 when the company announced that it would quickly begin testing its experimental Ebola Vaccine in humans.  However, NewLink has many drugs in its pipeline besides the vaccine for the Ebola Virus. It is working on drugs to treat cancer as well. 

Today, NLNK announced that it has entered into an agreement with Roche (RHHBY) to co-develop an experimental drug known as NLG919. This NLG919 drug compound is in a new class of immunotherapy drugs called IDO inhibitors.

In essence, activation of the IDO pathway allows cancer cells to avoid being detected by a patients' T-cells. If the cancer cells can avoid detection by T-cells, they can spread further. Drugs that inhibit the IDO pathway in cancer cells may allow the T-cells to easily detect and destroy the cancerous cells. 

With the agreement announced today, NewLink will receive an upfront payment of at least $150 million with the possibility of earning an additional $1 billion dollars in payments if the company meets certain milestones. These milestones include success of each clinical trial and the eventual commercialization of the NLG919 drug compound. Roche will fund all future costs of this drug compound. This is an enormous benefit to NewLink which won't have to spend money on the development program.  

The share price of NLNK has been very strong recently.  With the Ebola epidemic scaring the world right now, NLNK made headline news for beginning human studies of its experimental vaccine. It is further along than many biotech companies claiming to have a drug for Ebola infections. In primates, NLNK's vaccine can prevent death even when given after an infection has occurred. 

NewLink Genetics has received $1 million in contract money from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency towards the development of this urgently needed vaccine.