Date: 2015-01-21
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: bi-specific antibody therapeutics enabled using Zymeworks’ proprietary Azymetric™ platform
Company: Celgene (USA - NJ) Zymeworks (Canada)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: R&D licensing commercialisation
Action mechanism: bispecific antibody. Bispecific antibodies developed using the Azymetric™ platform resemble conventional mono-specific antibodies while being able to simultaneously bind to two different targets resulting in additive or synergistic therapeutic responses. Azymetric™ antibodies spontaneously assemble into a single molecule with two different Fab domains comprising of unique heavy and light chain pairings. Azymetric™ antibodies are manufactured using conventional monoclonal antibody processes and can also be easily adapted to rapidly screen target and sequence combinations for bi-specific activities in the final therapeutic format thereby significantly reducing drug development timelines.
Disease:
Details: * On January 21, 2015, Zymeworks announced a collaboration and licensing agreement with Celgene for the research, development, and commercialization of bi-specific antibody therapeutics enabled using Zymeworks’ proprietary Azymetric™ platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Zymeworks and Celgene will collaborate on the research and development of multiple bi-specific antibodies based on the Azymetric™ platform. Celgene will have the option to advance the resulting bi-specific candidates through clinical development and subsequent commercialization.
Financial terms: Zymeworks will receive an initial upfront payment, as well as an equity investment from Celgene. Zymeworks is eligible to receive clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones on successful candidates totaling up to US $164M per therapeutic candidate. Additionally, Zymeworks will receive royalties on worldwide net sales. Further financial details are not disclosed.
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