BioNTech receives exclusive licenses from DualityBio for two experimental antibody-drug conjugate assets, DB-1303 and DB-1311, which are directed against targets expressed in a broad range of human cancers
BioNTech announces ADC partnership with DualityBio. (Credit: Julia Koblitz on Unsplash)
BioNTech has signed an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with China-based Duality Biologics (DualityBio) to develop two antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) assets.
DualityBio is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on next-generation ADC therapeutics to treat patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases.
The collaboration aims to develop, manufacture, and market the two ADC assets worldwide, except in Mainland China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Macau (SAR).
Under the terms of the agreement, DualityBio will receive $170m in upfront payments for both asset licenses, and potential milestone payments, totalling more than $1.5bn.
BioNTech will obtain access to DualityBio’s lead topoisomerase-1 inhibitor-based ADC candidates, DB-1303, and DB-1311.
The topoisomerase-1 inhibitor-based ADCs target Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2), which is overexpressed in different types of cancers.
The Chinese biotech firm is also eligible to receive tiered royalties on net sales for both assets.
BioNTech chief executive officer and co-founder Ugur Sahin said: “Over the last years, the ADC field has made significant progress, overcoming several limitations and demonstrating its potential as a broadly applicable precision medicine drug class that might be an alternative to standard chemotherapy.
“The addition of these two ADCs to our portfolio strengthens our pipeline of immunotherapies and expands our capabilities with the aim to provide therapeutic benefits for patients with a range of solid tumours, along the entire patient journey.”
BioNTech said that collaboration will add ADCs as a new drug class in its oncology portfolio.
ADCs are a class of potent cancer therapies combining the selectivity of antibodies with the potent cell-killing properties of chemotherapy or other anti-cancer agents.
DualityBio will retain commercial rights for Mainland China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Macau Special Administrative Region.
Furthermore, the company holds the right to exercise a co-development cost and profit or loss sharing option for DB-1311 in the US, along with a co-promotion option for the US market.
DualityBio founder and CEO John Zhu said: “We are delighted to partner with BioNTech, a leading company which brings transformational medicine to patients through innovation.
“This is a recognition of not only DualityBio’s next-generation ADC platform, but also its internal discovery and development capabilities.
“With this strategic partnership, we are committed to working together to advance the development of innovative therapies for the benefit of patients worldwide.”