On April 5, 2016 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN, SSE: AZN, NYSE: AZN), reported that they have entered into a licensing agreement under which Regeneron will use MedImmune’s pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD)-based warhead and linker technology to produce antibodydrug conjugates (ADCs) as potential cancer treatments (Press release, Regeneron, APR 5, 2016, View Source [SID:1234510419]). Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo! Regeneron will have exclusive rights to utilize MedImmune’s proprietary PBD technology to develop ADCs against a number of cancer targets. MedImmune will receive an upfront payment, development and commercial milestone payments, as well as single-digit royalties on net sales of such products. MedImmune has the option to develop and commercialize certain products created with this technology in territories outside of the United States.
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"Developing next generation antibody-drug conjugates, including our proprietary PBD technology, is one of our key strategic platforms in advancing cancer therapies. Today’s collaboration represents our third partnership in this area, as we look to grow our ADC portfolio both internally and externally," said Ronald Herbst, Vice President, Oncology Research & Development, MedImmune. "We are pleased to be working with Regeneron, a company that is committed to advancing scientific innovation in cancer treatments. Regeneron’s research capabilities complements our commitment to discovering and developing the next generation of cancer therapies."
ADCs are a promising area of cancer drug technology which may help enable the selective killing of cancer cells by combining a cytotoxic agent, or "warhead", with specific cancertargeting antibodies. MedImmune is committed to advancing its pre-clinical and clinical stage ADC portfolio, in addition to its focus in immuno-oncology.
"We believe the most successful approaches to cancer R&D will combine multiple innovative therapies and technologies, and therefore we are pursuing a diverse array of strategies, pathways and modalities including ADCs, bispecific antibodies and monocolonal antibodies," said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron and President of Regeneron Laboratories. "This new agreement will further bolster our efforts to advance new, effective treatment options for cancer patients in need."
Regeneron’s clinical pipeline in oncology includes a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor antibody, which is being developed in collaboration with Sanofi, and a CD20xCD3 bispecific antibody. Regeneron expects to advance multiple additional candidates into human clinical trials over the next 12 to 24 months.
MedImmune’s PBD technology was invented and developed by Spirogen, a company acquired by MedImmune in 2013.