On October 3, 2014 Sorrento Therapeutics reported that China Oncology Focus Limited, an Affiliate of Lee’s Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited (Lee’s Pharma), has licensed Sorrento’s fully human immune-oncology anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) STI-A1014 (Filing 8-K , Sorrento Therapeutics, OCT 6, 2014, View Source [SID:1234500791]).
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Under the terms of the agreement, Lee’s Pharma received exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the antibody for the greater Chinese market, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. In turn, Sorrento will receive an up-front payment, potential future milestone payments and high single digit to double digit royalties on future net sales. In total, Sorrento has the potential to receive more than $46 million upon the successful attainment of key milestones. Additionally, Lee’s Pharma will invest $3.6 million by purchasing common stock in Sorrento at a substantial premium to the current market price.
Sorrento’s proprietary G-MAB library platform was used to identify and generate STI-A1014. The theoretical diversity of the library has been calculated to be more than one quadrillion unique antibodies, making it one of the largest fully human antibody libraries available to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for drug discovery and development partnerships.
The immuno-oncology field has emerged as the most exciting and fastest developing pharmaceutical market in decades. Antibodies targeting CTLA-4, PD-1, and PD-L1, thus, harnessing the cancer patient’s own immune system for treatment of various solid and hematological malignancies have demonstrated tremendous therapeutic potential rarely seen with conventional oncolytic drugs. A recent forecast by Citigroup predicts this market to become the biggest blockbuster drug class in history with potential sales of up to $35 billion a year over the next 10 years.
"Lee’s commitment to addressing high unmet oncology needs by bringing new effective immuno-oncology therapy to the Chinese market is reflected in this transaction. Sorrento’s antibody technologies as well as its therapeutic mAb programs are truly cutting edge. We look forward to working closely with Sorrento. Our long standing development and commercial experience in the Chinese pharmaceutical industry together with Sorrento’s immunotherapy expertise will ensure timely and efficient development of this exciting therapy, with special focus on cancers with high prevalence in China. We expect to start a Phase 1 clinical trial of the anti-PD-L1 antibody in China in 2015," said Dr. Xiaoyi Li, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Lee’s Pharma.
"We are extremely pleased to work with Lee’s Pharma, a leading Chinese pharmaceutical company with an excellent track record in drug development and commercialization. This partnership further validates our G-MAB antibody technology and underscores Sorrento’s commitment for seeking strategic alliances in bringing its diverse portfolio of fully human monoclonal antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and bi-specific antibodies into the clinic," said Henry Ji, President and CEO of Sorrento.