Novartis adds bispecific antibodies to its growing immuno-oncology portfolio through collaboration and licensing agreement with Xencor
Agreement is the latest in a series of acquisitions and strategic collaborations that have bolstered Novartis' deep and diverse immuno-oncology pipeline.
Novartis has entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement with Xencor for the development of bispecific antibodies for treating cancer. The agreement is the latest in a series of acquisitions and strategic collaborations between Novartis and biotech companies that have helped bolster its deep and diverse immuno-oncology pipeline.
Traditional monoclonal antibodies target and bind to a single antigen. Bispecific antibodies are engineered to recognize and target two different antigens, which makes them potentially more effective in targeting complex diseases. A T-cell engaging bispecific antibody is able to bind an antigen on a tumour cell with one arm and engage T-cells capable of their destruction with the other.
Novartis receives the right to develop four additional bispecific antibodies and to use other Xencor proprietary antibody engineering technology for up to 10 additional biotherapeutic programs across the Novartis R&D portfolio. In addition, The companies will collaborate to co-develop Xencor's two bispecific T-cell engaging antibodies targeting CD3xCD123 and CD3xCD20 for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and B-cell malignancies.
"This collaboration is part of our strategy to join forces with technology innovators who can help us rapidly advance new medicines to the clinic," said Jay Bradner, President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. "We look forward to working with the Xencor team to advance these programs in immuno-oncology and to using their antibody engineering platform to develop biotherapeutics for additional diseases."
The addition of Xencor's T-cell engaging bispecific antibody programs expands Novartis' immuno-oncology portfolio that includes novel checkpoint inhibitors, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CART) technology, myeloid cell targeting agents, the T-cell stimulating factor IL-15, STING agonists that enhance immune recognition of cancers, and adenosine receptor antagonists and TGF-beta blocking antibodies that overcome immunosuppression in the tumour microenvironment. Currently seven of these programs are in the clinic and five more are expected to enter the clinic individually and as combinations by the end of 2016.
Under the terms of the agreement, Xencor is receiving a $150 million upfront payment from Novartis and the two companies will equally share the cost to jointly develop two Xencor antibodies targeting the CD3 domain. Xencor retains full US commercial rights to these programs, and Novartis has ex-US commercial rights. In addition to these antibodies, Novartis receives worldwide rights to develop and commercialize four additional bispecific programs, with Xencor eligible to "opt in" to one of these programs in the US.
Related News
-
News Patients vs Pharma – who will the Inflation Reduction Act affect the most?
The Inflation Reduction Act brought in by the Biden administration in 2022 aims to give better and more equitable access to healthcare in the USA. However, pharma companies are now concerned about the other potential costs of such legislation. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: What does the changing US Pharma market mean for industry and patients alike?
In this week's episode of the CPHI Podcast Series Lucy Chard, Digital Editor for CPHI Online is joined by James Manser to discuss the political and market changes in the US pharma field. -
News CPHI Barcelona Annual Report illuminates industry trends for 2024
The CPHI Annual Survey comes into it’s 7th year to report on the predicted trends for 2024. Over 250 pharma executives were asked 35 questions, with their answers informing the industry landscape for the next year, spanning all major pharma marke... -
News Which 10 drugs are open to price negotiation with Medicare in the USA?
The Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services, under the Biden administration in the USA, has released a list of the 10 drugs that will be open to price negotiations as part of the new legislation under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). -
News EU Medical Devices Regulation causes unintended disappearances of medical devices for children, doctors state
Doctor groups and associations have appealed to the EU to correct the EU Medical Devices Regulation law that may cause unintended shortages of essential drug and medical devices for children and rare disease patients. -
News 10 Major Drug Approvals So Far in 2023
Last year, 37 novel drugs were approved by the FDA, this was a high number for such a category, and covered many fields including oncology, demonstrating how promising further research is, and how it is only continuing to build. To date, there are alre... -
News Detecting Alzheimer's disease with a simple lateral flow test
A novel rapid diagnostic test for early-stage Alzheimer's disease has been developed using a biomarker binder from Aptamer Group along with technology from Neuro-Bio, the neurodegenerative disease experts. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: outsourcing and manufacturing trends
Listen to the CPHI Podcast Series this June to hear Gil Roth of the PBOA speak with Digital Editor Lucy Chard about the biggest trends and topics to watch in pharma outsourcing and manufacturing at the minute.
Position your company at the heart of the global Pharma industry with a CPHI Online membership
-
Your products and solutions visible to thousands of visitors within the largest Pharma marketplace
-
Generate high-quality, engaged leads for your business, all year round
-
Promote your business as the industry’s thought-leader by hosting your reports, brochures and videos within your profile
-
Your company’s profile boosted at all participating CPHI events
-
An easy-to-use platform with a detailed dashboard showing your leads and performance