Boehringer Ingelheim will be gaining access to Synaffix’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology through a licensing agreement worth over $1.3bn.
The deal covers “an agreed but undisclosed number of targets” and it aimed at broadening the ADC portfolio of Boehringer’s subsidiary, NBE Therapeutics.
ADCs are a relatively new class of cancer drugs that combine the selectivity of antibodies with the potent cell-killing power of chemotherapy or other anti-cancer agents. Unlike chemotherapy, which works by attacking lots of different cells, ADCs are designed to target and kill tumour cells while sparing healthy ones.
In exchange, the Lonza company will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and will be eligible for additional milestone payments of up to $1.3bn, as well as royalties on net sales of products resulting from the collaboration.
Lamine Mbow, global head of discovery research, Boehringer Ingelheim, said: “We are building a broad pipeline of ADCs addressing novel tumour target space to develop next-generation cancer treatments.
“By combining our… expertise in cancer treatment development with Synaffix’s clinical-stage platform technology, we aim to accelerate the delivery of first-in-class cancer treatments to improve cancer patient outcomes.”
Synaffix’s ADC platform technology utilises an enzymatic modification of native glycan anchor points on antibodies to enable the development of ADCs or bispecifics. It is based on three technologies, GlycoConnect, HydraSpace and toxSYN, which together enable any company with an antibody to develop products under a single licence from Synaffix.
Peter van de Sande, head of Synaffix, said the deal “represents the culmination of a successful preclinical evaluation of [the company’s] technology”.
Boehringer entered into a number of agreements last year, including its $1.3bn
acquisition
of Nerio Therapeutics, announced in July, to boost its immuno-oncology pipeline.
In the same month, the company
entered
into a partnership with artificial intelligence specialist Brainomix to improve the care of patients with fibrosing lung disease in the US. It also agreed a second partnership with 3T Biosciences in January last year to develop next-generation cancer immunotherapies, building on the “successful completion” of the companies’ initial oncology research partnership.