San Francisco-based Xyphos Biosciences Inc. is pooling technology platforms with Boston’s Kelonia Therapeutics Inc. in a novel immuno-oncology (I-O) drug discovery deal that could fetch more than $800 million. Xyphos and Kelonia will collaborate to develop a maximum of two in vivo CAR T-cell therapy programs, utilizing both Kelonia’s in vivo gene placement system called iGPS and Xyphos’ Accel technology platform.
San Francisco-based Xyphos Biosciences Inc. is pooling technology platforms with Boston’s Kelonia Therapeutics Inc. in a novel immuno-oncology (I-O) drug discovery deal that could fetch more than $800 million. Xyphos and Kelonia will collaborate to develop a maximum of two in vivo CAR T-cell therapy programs, utilizing both Kelonia’s in vivo gene placement system called iGPS and Xyphos’ Accel technology platform.
Pharma-biotech pairings continued apace in the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) space, with 2023 capped by Legochem Biosciences Inc. signing a $1.7 billion licensure deal with Johnson & Johnson arm Janssen Biotech Inc. for the former’s Trop2-directed compound, the second-biggest Korean technology transfer agreement.
Upbeat phase III findings outweighed less encouraging late-stage trial news, as big pharma provided a mixed bag of cancer findings – with one data batch to form the basis of global approval bids, as Astrazeneca plc with Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. unveiled interim results from a study called Tropion-Breast01. Targeting trophoblast cell surface antigen 2, datopotamab deruxtecan (dato) hit the mark in progression-free survival for patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-low or negative breast cancer in the study called Tropion-Breast01.
As Seagen Inc. preps for a merger, the U.S. FDA awarded accelerated approval to the company’s big-selling Padcev (enfortumab vedotin). The approval is for a combination therapy with Merck & Co. Inc.’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) as a first-line treatment for adults with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who are not eligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy.
LONDON – Europe’s latest antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) specialist, Emergence Therapeutics AG, will be going head to head with pioneer Seagen Inc.’s approved ADC, Padcev, after raising €87 million (US$97.9 million) in a series A round.
Cambridge, U.K.-based Bicycle Therapeutics plc’s phase I dosing about a month ago of its first patient with nectin-4-targeting BT-8009 put the company on the road to hoped-for success by pursuing the same mechanism of action as Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv), the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) from Astellas Pharma Inc. and Seagen Inc.
A mere 26 months after the first patient was enrolled in its pivotal phase II study and about three months ahead of its PDUFA date, the FDA granted accelerated approval for Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) to treat adults with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who have previously received a PD-1/L1 inhibitor and a platinum-containing chemotherapy before (neoadjuvant) or after (adjuvant) surgery or in a locally advanced or metastatic setting.