Add cancer-focused biotech MacroGenics to the list of biopharmas shoveling out cash for Synaffix's antibody-drug conjugate technology. The Maryland biotech will dish out up to $586 million for access to Synaffix's ADCs for three programs.
That dollar figure covers upfront and milestone payments and the first program is already underway. MacroGenics has the option to expand into the second and third programs by March 2023, the companies said Thursday.
MacroGenics will combine Synaffix's ADC technology with its antibody and bispecific DART antibody platform. The cancer biotech's mid- and early-stage pipeline includes partners I-Mab Biopharma, Zai Lab and Immunogen.
"Bispecifics is obviously a new tool in the arsenal of ADC since it has the potential to reduce toxicities and therefore zoom in more on the cancer cell," which ideally leads to higher efficacy, said Peter van de Sande, CEO of Synaffix, in an interview.
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The MacroGenics deal is the latest in a string of tie-ups for Synaffix around the Dutch biotech's ADC tech. Synaffix wants to be the "one-stop shop" for companies that already have an antibody, the CEO said.
The deal comes just four weeks after Genmab bet $415 million on Synaffix's ADCs. Genmab is far from the only: Mersana Therapeutics and Synaffix bumped up their ADC collaboration in November 2021 to a deal now worth $1 billion. Other partners include ADC Therapeutics, Kyowa Kirin, ProfoundBio, Shanghai Miracogen and Innovent Biologics.
Mersana also formed another pact Thursday. Johnson & Johnson's Janssen will deliver $40 million upfront and more than $1 billion in milestones to the Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech for ADCs spanning three targets.