BioNTech entered into a strategic research collaboration and worldwide licensing agreement with MediLink Therapeutics based in China, to develop next-generation antibody-drug conjugates for cancer. BioNTech will pay $70 million upfront and additional development, regulatory and commercial milestones, with a potential value of more than $1 billion.
 
MediLink will grant the exclusive global right to develop, manufacture and commercialize its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) assets targeting the HER3 protein, and will retain ownership of these molecules in the Greater China region.
 
HER3 is a tyrosine kinase receptor that is often over-expressed in several solid tumors, including breast, ovarian and prostate cancers. According to MediLink, HER3 is a well-validated target in cancer and is closely associated with tumor metastasis and disease progression.
 
MediLink is developing HER3-directed ADCs using its TMALIN platform designed to overcome challenges such as the need to be absorbed by lysosomes and large molecule size, which lower permeability. TMALIN uses a unique ADC structure with novel digestion characteristics to allow the therapeutic to exert its effects on the tumor’s microenvironment, inducing a high concentration of the payload in tumor tissue and achieving strong cancer-killing activity.