Good things come in threes, or so the old adage goes, one that is certainly holding true for Exelixis. The California biotech has made its third deal in three days, this time paying Catalent Biologics $30 million cash for licensing rights to three of its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates.
Under the terms of Nov. 3 agreement, Exelixis will choose Catalent discovery programs that hold the potential to be developed into ADCs for a variety of solid tumor indications. The biotech will fund development work conducted by Catalent until candidate selection is complete, after which Exelixis will take over all preclinical, clinical and commercial work. Catalent will also be given the chance to earn milestone payments and sales-based royalties.
The discovery programs are being developed using Catalent’s SMARTag tech, which is designed to give ADCs a broader therapeutic window and improved manufacturability, according to the company.
It’s not the first deal between the two companies: In September 2020, they inked a separate agreement in which Catalent builds ADCs using monoclonal antibodies from Exelixis’ preclinical programs.
The deal also follows two separate deals penned by Exelixis earlier this week, one with Cybrexa Therapeutics and one with Sairopa. The biotech will dole out $100 million upfront for the two pacts for the chance to add several new oncology assets to its pipeline.
The Nov. 3 deal is supported by revenues from Exelixis’ marketed products and collaborations, according to a company release.