A U.S. biotechnology company founded by Deerfield Management Company L.P. licensed exclusive rights to Metis Techbio Co. Ltd.’s preclinical trispecific T-cell engager (TCE) for autoimmune disorders in a potential $1.62 billion deal.

MPM Bioimpact-spawned K2 Therapeutics Inc. inked a license deal plus option agreement, worth $980.5 million apiece, to gain ex-China rights to two of Antengene Corp. Ltd.’s preclinical anticancer bispecific T-cell engager (TCE) assets. The deal, announced June 21, will grant Singapore-based K2 exclusive rights to develop and commercialize Antengene’s ATG-106 outside of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Lu-AG-22515, also known as velaprumig, is a recombinant fusion protein that targets CD40 ligand (CD40L) and human serum albumin (HSA), thereby blocking the binding between CD40 and CD40L, a known signaling pathway involved in several autoimmune diseases. Researchers at H. Lundbeck A/S evaluated the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) profile of Lu-AG-22515 in cynomolgus monkeys, as well as the impact of its inhibitory effect in the preclinical setting of thyroid eye disease (TED).