On December 6, 2023 Synaffix B.V., a Lonza company (SIX: LONN) focused on commercializing its clinical-stage platform technology for the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with best-in-class therapeutic index, reported the expansion of its licensing agreement with Innovent Biologics (Innovent), Inc. (HKEX:01801), a world-class biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and commercializes high-quality medicines for the treatment of oncology, autoimmune, metabolic, ophthalmology and other major diseases (Press release, Innovent Biologics, DEC 6, 2023, View Source [SID1234638202]).

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Building on the core value proposition of Synaffix ADC technology – to enable best-in-class efficacy and tolerability for ADCs – the expanded deal with Innovent focuses on at least one new ADC candidate. This builds on a previous agreement signed in June 2021, which granted Innovent rights to deploy Synaffix’s ADC technologies on a target-specific, non-exclusive basis, including GlycoConnect, HydraSpace and one of its toxSYN linker-payloads, for a therapeutic molecule (Innovent R&D code: IBI343, a CLDN18.2 ADC) which has advanced to Phase 1 clinical development.

Under the terms of the expanded agreement, Innovent will be responsible for the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of new ADC candidates. Synaffix is eligible to receive an upfront payment plus potential milestone payments and royalties on commercial sales for each licensed target.

Peter van de Sande, Head of Synaffix, said: "With its focus on innovative medicines and R&D expertise, Innovent has proven to be an ideal partner for us. Our partnership with Innovent has rapidly built momentum around IBI343 and we look forward to expanding our collaboration using our technology platform, including enabling off-the-shelf conversion of antibodies into ADCs, and Innovent’s world-leading clinical development capabilities with its strong proven track record to swiftly advance product candidates to the clinic."

Dr. Kaijie He, Vice President of Cancer Biology and ADC Research at Innovent, said: "Innovent has progressed one ADC candidate under the initial phase of our collaboration with Synaffix to the clinical development stage. This expanded deal adds additional novel ADC to our research projects, allowing us to further build on our understanding of ADC research and ADC pipeline development."