Two Chinese Biotechs Strike Major ADC Out-Licensing Deals on the Same Day

In the second half of the year, ADC deals remain hot.

On August 20, Kelun-Biotech and Puzhong Discovery Pharmaceutical Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. successively reached cooperation with overseas pharmaceutical companies on ADC projects, achieving their goal of going global by leveraging external resources.

$1 Billion: Puzhong Discovery Licenses Out TF ADC Overseas

On August 20, Puzhong Discovery announced a collaboration with Adcendo on a new ADC drug codenamed ADCE-T02 (Puzhong Discovery's research and development code: AMT-754).

According to the agreement, Adcendo will obtain global exclusive development and commercialization rights outside of Greater China, while Puzhong Discovery Pharmaceutical Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. will receive tens of millions of dollars in upfront payments, total milestone payments exceeding 1 billion US dollars, and sales royalties.

According to the disclosure by Puzhong Discovery's official WeChat account, ADCE-T02 is a novel, highly differentiated ADC drug targeting tissue factor (Anti-TF). Its unique antibody design can reduce the impact on the coagulation pathway. Meanwhile, the T1000-exatecan linker-payload technology platform can amplify the "bystander effect," enhance linker stability, and has the potential to overcome drug resistance mechanisms.

Currently, ADCE-T02 has been submitted for clinical trial in Australia and is expected to file for U.S. IND soon, with the indication being solid tumors.

Previously, in June 2024, Mabcare Therapeutics and Day One Biopharmaceuticals reached a collaboration on the PTK7 ADC new drug MTX-13. Day One paid $55 million as an upfront payment, with milestone payments totaling $1.152 billion, along with single-digit percentage royalties on sales, to obtain global rights outside Greater China for MTX-13.

MTX-13 was jointly developed by Puzhong Discovery and MabCare, and ADCE-T02 is the second ADC project licensed overseas by Puzhong Discovery.

Kelun-Biotech's Bispecific ADC Gains Merck's Favor

On August 20, Kelun Pharmaceutical announced the cooperation progress between its subsidiary Kelun-Biotech and Merck.

In 2022, Kelun-Biotech reached multiple collaborations with Merck involving nine ADC products, with a potential collaboration value exceeding 10 billion US dollars. Although two of these were returned in 2023, the two companies still have several ongoing ADC projects in collaboration.

Kelun Pharmaceuticals disclosed the progress of the TROP2-targeted ADC drug SKB264/MK2870 project (now referred to as the "Sac-TMT" project). As of June 30, 2024, Merck has initiated ten global Phase 3 clinical trials evaluating Sac-TMT as a monotherapy or in combination with pembrolizumab or other drugs for various indications.

In addition, Kelun-Biotech also announced the progress of its collaboration with Merck on early-stage pipeline projects.

Merck will exercise its exclusive option for the SKB571 project and pay Kelun-Biotech $37.5 million, along with milestone payments and tiered royalties calculated on net sales. Kelun-Biotech will retain the rights to develop, use, manufacture, and commercialize SKB571 in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

SKB571 is a bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) primarily targeting various solid tumors such as lung cancer and gastrointestinal tumors. Preclinical studies have shown that this product demonstrated favorable anti-tumor efficacy and safety in multiple patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models and cynomolgus monkeys. The product is expected to submit an IND application in the near future.

In addition, Merck returned the global rights to the Claudin18.2-targeted ADC drug SKB315. Kelun-Biotech is not required to refund the upfront payment and milestone payments previously received from Merck for this project.

Conclusion

In recent years, the potential of ADC therapy in cancer treatment has been validated, being regarded as an iterative upgrade to chemotherapy and becoming an essential option in the oncology pipelines of major pharmaceutical companies. China-produced ADCs are making waves overseas, with transaction amounts and volumes reaching new highs repeatedly. In the second half of this year, the ADC transaction boom continues. Who will be the next to go global? It’s worth looking forward to.

Appendix: Summary of ADC Transactions Produced in China (Partial)

Data source: Collated from publicly available company information

Editor: Liuli

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article represent the author's personal opinions and do not reflect the position of Pharma Intelligence Network. We welcome exchanges and additional input in the comment section; for reprints, please be sure to credit the author and source. If the content, copyright, or other issues are involved, please leave a message on this platform, and we will address it promptly.