July 24,NovartisAnnouncement with Biopharmaceutical CompanyDren BioReach cooperation,Jointly discover and develop bispecific antibodies for cancer treatment.According to the agreement, Novartis will pay$150 million upfront payment,This includes a $25 million equity investment in Dren Bio. Novartis will also invest in preclinical, clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones.Potential bio-funding of $2.85 billion.Dren will be entitled to receive tiered royalties on net sales of any future marketed products related to this partnership.In return, Novartis will receive Dren Bio's proprietaryTargeted myeloid engagers and phagocytosis platforms,This platform effectively depletes pathogenic cells, protein aggregates, and other pathogenic factors by engaging novel phagocytic receptors selectively expressed on myeloid cells. The bispecific antibodies generated by this platform are specially designed to enable controlled activation of myeloid cells only in the presence of the target antigen, offering a higher therapeutic index and improved safety compared to other treatment modalities such as T cell engagers and antibody-drug conjugates.Dren Bio, Inc. was founded in 2019 to discover and develop novel first-in-class antibody therapies for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and other serious conditions. The company completed a $60 million Series A financing in October 2020, led by SR One and Taiho Ventures, and a $65 million Series B financing in June 2022, co-led by Aisling Capital and HBM Healthcare Investments.Dren Bio's platform is being deployed across various therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, and neurology. Its core pipeline, DR-01, is an antibody therapy that selectively depletes terminally differentiated toxic cells, such as autoreactive CD8 T cells, which are known to play a pathogenic role in various cancers and autoimmune diseases. DR-01 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2 study in patients with cytotoxic lymphoma and is being expanded into various autoimmune indications.Another candidate drug, DR-0201, is able to engage tissue-resident and trafficking myeloid cells, inducing deep B-cell depletion through targeted phagocytosis. It is currently in Phase I studies for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL). DR-0201 has demonstrated strong preclinical safety in multiple non-human primate studies without evidence of cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity and is now being evaluated in a Phase 1 study in patients with B-NHL.Figure | Dren Bio Pipeline (Source: Company Website)
In 2022, the company also gained the favor of Pfizer, reaching a cooperation agreement worth over 1 billion US dollars for the discovery and development of therapeutic bispecific antibodies targeting specific tumor targets.Novartis licensed two bispecific drugs from Xenor for $2.6 billion in 2016. But by 2021, the pharmaceutical company had abandoned both candidate drugs.In April 2023, Novartis cut 10% of its R&D pipeline, including the BCMAxCD3 bispecific antibody for multiple myeloma. Novartis stated at the time that the reason for abandoning this drug was due to intense competition from other companies also targeting BCMA.Reference link:
1.https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240724830878/en/Dren-Bio-Announces-Strategic-Collaboration-with-Novartis-to-Develop-Novel-Targeted-Myeloid-Engagers-for-Cancer
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