Adagene Announces $2.5 Billion Collaboration with Sanofi to Develop Next-Generation Masked Antibody Candidates

On March 2, Adagene announced a research collaboration and exclusive technology licensing agreement with Sanofi. Adagene will lead early-stage R&D activities using its proprietary SAFEbody platform.^®Adagene Develops Next-Generation Precision Masked Safe Antibodies: Monoclonal and Bispecific, While Sanofi Will Lead Further R&D, Product Development, and Commercialization Activities. Under the Agreement, the Total Potential Value of This Collaboration Deal is $2.5 Billion Along with Royalties.

Among the terms, Sanofi will pay Adagene a $17.5 million upfront payment to initially co-develop two of Sanofi’s antibody drug candidates. Sanofi has the right to nominate two additional antibody drug candidates for development and commercialization. For future products exclusively developed and commercialized by Sanofi, Adagene is eligible to receive up to $2.5 billion in development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on global net sales of the products.

According to the press release, by utilizing precise masking technology to cover the antigen-binding domain of antibodies, Adagene's safe antibody technology can address safety and tolerability issues present in many antibody therapies. Through specific activation within the tumor microenvironment, safe antibodies can achieve precise tumor suppression targeting tumor tissues while minimizing toxic side effects on surrounding healthy tissues. The safe antibody technology can be broadly applied to various antibody formats, including monoclonal and bispecific antibodies, such as Fc receptor antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, and T-cell engagers.

In addition to its existing global business collaborations, Adagene is also building a highly differentiated and transformative pipeline of antibody-based therapies. Currently, five products developed by Adagene have entered clinical development, all of which were generated using Adagene's AI-powered antibody technology platform. This includes three wholly-owned products in Phase 1b/2 development and two out-licensed (Greater China) candidates. Additionally, Adagene has five programs in the IND-enabling stage of preclinical research for new drug applications, with more than 50 other drug candidates at various stages of research.

References:

[1] Adagene Inc. Announces Multi-Target SAFEbody® Collaboration with Sanofi to Develop Next-Generation Masked Antibody Candidates. Retrieved Mar 2, 2022. From https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3vvcDt29Nd1dyTvBc7d8Rw

(Original text has been abridged)

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