Puzhong Discovery and Adcendo Announce Global Licensing Agreement for Anti-TF ADC ADCE-T02
Multitude Therapeutics
Innovative Drug Developer
ADCendo
Developer of Novel Anti-Cancer Drugs
Shanghai, China and Copenhagen, Denmark – August 20, 2024 — Puzhong Discovery Pharmaceutical Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. ("Puzhong Discovery") and Adcendo ApS ("Adcendo") jointly announced today that they have entered into a licensing agreement for ADCE-T02 (Puzhong Discovery’s research and development code: AMT-754), a novel, highly differentiated antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting tissue factor (Anti-TF). Under the agreement, Adcendo will obtain exclusive global development and commercialization rights outside Greater China, while Puzhong Discovery will retain the development and commercialization rights in Greater China (including mainland China, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan region).
According to the financial terms of the agreement, Puzhong Discovery Pharmaceutical Technology(Shanghai) Co., Ltd.It will now receive an upfront payment of several tens of millions of US dollars, and upon achieving subsequent development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, it will receive total milestone payments exceeding 1 billion US dollars in aggregate, along with payments based on global (Royalties in the range of single-digit to low double-digit percentages of net sales (excluding Greater China).
Tissue Factor (TF) is overexpressed in bladder cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, esophageal cancer, head and neck cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer, but its expression is restricted in normal tissues, making it an excellent ADC target.
ADCE-T02 is a novel, highly differentiated Anti-TF ADC.Its unique antibody design can reduce the impact on the coagulation pathway. Meanwhile, the T1000-exatecan linker-payload technology platform has been proven by research to amplify the "bystander effect," enhance linker stability, and possess the potential to overcome drug resistance mechanisms.These differentiated characteristics are expected to translate into higher clinical treatment response rates, longer duration of efficacy, and better safety, offering a more optimal therapeutic window.
ADCE-T02 has been submitted for clinical trial in Australia and is expected to file for U.S. IND soon.
Puzhong Discovery Pharmaceutical Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. stated: "We are delighted to initiate a global collaboration with Adcendo ApS. ADCE-T02 utilizes the T1000-exatecan linker-payload platform, and this successful partnership demonstrates the platform's significant role across multiple successful ADC pipelines. We look forward to Adcendo’s experienced global development and clinical teams advancing ADCE-T02 rapidly to benefit cancer patients in need."
ADCendo stated: "We are impressed by the scientific research on the T1000-exatecan linker-payload platform and are pleased with the licensing agreement we have reached for ADCE-T02. This collaboration perfectly complements our existing first-in-class ADC pipeline. As recently showcased at the annual ASCO conference, TF is an excellent ADC target with tremendous potential in a wide range of indications with significant unmet needs. The highly differentiated design of ADCE-T02 can fully leverage the advantages of this target, with the potential to bring real benefits to more cancer patients."
About Puzhong Discovery
Puzhong Discovery Pharmaceutical Technology(Shanghai) Co., Ltd. is a clinical-stage company focused on the development of ADC drugs. Puzhong Discovery owns two technology platforms: MabArray — an antibody platform for discovering novel cell surface anti-tumor targets to construct first-in-class targets, and T1000 — a novel linker-payload technology for developing ADCs. ADCs prepared using this platform achieve a more optimized balance in terms of bystander effect, efficacy, and safety. The combination of MabArray and T1000 produces significant synergistic effects, enabling Puzhong Discovery to build an ADC "catalog" that holds promise for treating malignant tumors with high unmet medical needs and achieving higher and more durable responses.
Based on the aforementioned technology platform, Puzhong Discovery currently has several ADC pipelines under development, including three ADC pipelines targeting entirely new antigens. Moreover, multiple ADC pipelines, including all the novel targets, have entered clinical stages, demonstrating favorable safety and efficacy, thus providing preliminary validation for the company’s platform technology. For more information, please visit www.multitudetherapeutics.com.
About ADCendo ApS
ADCendo ApS is dedicated to developing breakthrough antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for the treatment of rare cancers. In 2024, the company completed an extension of its Series A financing round, raising a total of 98 million euros to advance, expand, and accelerate the development of its novel target ADC pipeline. Investors include Novo Holdings, Ysios Capital, Pontifax Venture Capital, RA Capital Management, HealthCap, Gilde Healthcare, and Dawn Biopharma, a platform company controlled by KKR. For more information, please visit www.adcendo.com.