AbbVie and Genmab Enter $3.9 Billion Collaboration to Co-Develop Next-Generation Bispecific Antibodies and Novel Oncology Therapies

On June 10, AbbVie and Genmab announced that they had signed an extensive collaboration agreement to jointly develop and commercialize three next-generation bispecific antibody drug candidates from Genmab’s early-stage pipeline, including epcoritamab (DuoBody^®-CD3xCD20），DuoHexaBody^®-CD37 and DuoBody-CD3x5T4. The two parties also established an early drug discovery collaboration to develop differentiated novel oncology therapies, primarily focusing on four next-generation antibody drugs targeting solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.

This collaboration fully leverages Genmab’s globally leading bispecific antibody development platform, combined with AbbVie’s extensive strengths in clinical development, its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology platform, and the commercialization of hematologic malignancies therapies.

Genmab’s DuoBody-CD3 technology selectively directs cytotoxic T cells to tumor cells, triggering an immune response against the tumors. AbbVie’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology enables the targeted delivery of toxins directly to tumor cells, sparing normal healthy cells and thereby providing a more targeted and less toxic therapeutic approach.

Under the agreement, AbbVie will pay Genmab an upfront payment of $750 million, followed by up to $3.15 billion in development, regulatory, and sales milestones. The two companies will jointly commercialize epcoritamab in the United States and Japan, while AbbVie will be responsible for its development and promotion in other global markets. Genmab will record net sales revenue of epcoritamab in the U.S. and Japan and will receive tiered royalties from AbbVie ranging from 22% to 26% based on net product sales in other markets.

For DuoHexaBody-CD37, DuoBody-CD3x5T4, and other candidate products discovered through the collaboration between the two companies, Genmab and AbbVie will jointly bear the global development costs and share responsibility for commercialization in the United States and Japan. Genmab retains the right to co-promote these products with AbbVie in markets outside the United States and Japan. Genmab will be responsible for conducting Phase I studies for these products, and AbbVie holds an option to decide whether to continue the collaboration based on the Phase I results.

Original Title: AbbVie and Genmab Reach $3.9 Billion Collaboration to Develop Bispecific Antibodies and Novel Oncology Antibody Drugs