- PMLiVE
GSK and Duality Biologics have entered into an exclusive option agreement worth over $1bn for DualityBio’s preclinical antibody-drug conjugate (ADC).
The deal gives GSK an exclusive option to obtain a licence to develop and commercialise DB-1324 globally, except in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
The candidate leverages DualityBio’s Duality Immune Toxin Antibody Conjugate (DITAC) platform against a gastrointestinal cancer target.
Gastrointestinal cancers account for one in four cancer cases and one in three cancer-related deaths globally.
ADCs are a relatively new class of cancer drugs that combine the selectivity of antibodies with the cell-killing properties of chemotherapy or other anti-cancer agents. Unlike chemotherapy, which works by attacking lots of different cells as well as the cancer, ADCs are designed to target and kill tumour cells while sparing healthy cells.
DB-1324 has the potential to “unlock multiple combination therapy opportunities to strategically complement” GSK’s oncology portfolio, according to DualityBio.
DualityBio will initially receive $30m upfront and additional pre-option milestone payments and, if GSK exercises its option, the biotech will be in line for an option exercise fee as well as potential development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments totalling up to $975m, plus tiered royalties on net sales in GSK’s territories.
Hesham Abdullah, senior vice president, global head oncology, research and development, GSK, said: “Given the unique ability of ADCs to address certain targets on tumour cells while sparing healthy ones, we are confident in our strategic focus on this modality as it could advance new therapeutic treatments for the most challenging tumour types.”
Also commenting on the agreement, John Zhu, chief executive officer of DualityBio, said: “We are very glad to have entered into this agreement with GSK. Through this collaboration, we will work together to advance our innovative ADC programme in gastrointestinal cancer to address unmet medical needs.”
The deal is not GSK’s first of the month, with the company also recently partnering with Rgenta Therapeutics to develop RNA-targeting small molecule splice modulators for disease areas including oncology in an agreement worth nearly $500m per target.
GSK also entered into a strategic partnership worth $650m with Vesalius Therapeutics in November to discover and develop new treatments for Parkinson’s disease and one additional neurodegeneration indication.