On April 10, 2019 Synaffix B.V., a Dutch biotechnology company exclusively focused on continued advancement of its clinical-stage antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology for the development of best-in-class ADCs, reported that it has entered into a license agreement with Shanghai Miracogen Inc., a Chinese biotechnology company with a clinical-stage pipeline of ADCs (Press release, Synaffix, APR 10, 2019, View Source [SID1234535087]).
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Under the terms of the agreement, Miracogen has been granted non-exclusive rights to Synaffix’s proprietary GlycoConnect and HydraSpace ADC technologies for use in its next clinical candidate. Synaffix is eligible to receive upfront and potential milestone payments that total $125 million, plus royalties.
Miracogen will be responsible for the research, development, manufacturing and commercial-ization of the ADC product while Synaffix will be responsible for the manufacturing of components that are specifically related to its proprietary GlycoConnect and HydraSpace technologies.
This agreement follows a research collaboration between the two companies which was centered around a specific drug candidate that has now been selected for clinical development.
Mary Hu, Chairman and CEO of Miracogen, said:
"We are very pleased to have reached this license agreement with Synaffix. We believe that their GlycoConnect and HydraSpace technologies will further differentiate our pipeline of ADCs by delivering valuable expansion of the therapeutic index. Our efficient and collaborative relationship during the research phase has provided us with a highly competitive new asset for the Miracogen pipeline in just a five-month timeframe. We look forward to continuing our collaboration as we advance this candidate into the clinic and beyond to benefit cancer patients."
Peter van de Sande, CEO of Synaffix, said:
"Working with Miracogen has been a rewarding experience. As we transition into the development phase together, this license agreement with Miracogen provides additional validation of our GlycoConnect and HydraSpace technologies."
"There is a clear trend in China towards developing innovative products and as such, ADCs have emerged as a strong area of growth within the field of oncology. Our proprietary technologies can address the current unmet need for clinical candidates with an enhanced therapeutic index, thereby driving further growth of our activities in China and other markets."
About GlycoConnect and HydraSpace
The clinical-stage GlycoConnect and HydraSpace technologies enable best-in-class ADCs with significantly enhanced efficacy and tolerability. GlycoConnect is the conjugation technology that exploits the native glycan for site-specific and stable payload attachment. HydraSpace is the compact and highly polar spacer technology. These technologies can be applied directly to any existing antibody without any protein engineering and are compatible with all ADC payload classes.
The growing experience of Synaffix and its collaboration partners continues to confirm the ability of GlycoConnect and HydraSpace to consistently generate ADCs that are more effective and better tolerated when compared to the three major clinical-stage ADC conjugation technologies.