Innovent Biologics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures, and commercializes medicines for the treatment of oncology, metabolic, autoimmune, ophthalmology and other major diseases, entered into a licensing deal expansion with Synaffix B.V., a Lonza company focused on commercializing its clinical-stage platform technology for the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with best-in-class therapeutic index.

The expanded deal builds on a previous agreement signed in June 2021, under which Innovent is granted to deploy Synaffix’s ADC technologies on a target-specific, non-exclusive basis, including GlycoConnect, HydraSpace and one of its toxSYN linker-payloads, for a therapeutic molecule (Innovent R&D code: IBI343, a CLDN18.2 ADC) which has advanced to Phase 1 clinical development.

Under the terms of the agreement, Innovent will focus the development of at least one new ADC candidate, building on Synaffix’s ADC technology to enable best-in-class efficacy and tolerability for ADCs. Innovent will be responsible for the research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of new ADC candidates. Synaffix is eligible to receive an upfront payment plus potential milestone payments and royalties on commercial sales for each licensed target.

Kaijie He, vice president of cancer biology and ADC research at Innovent, said, “Innovent has progressed one ADC candidate under the initial phase of our collaboration with Synaffix to the clinical development stage. This expanded deal adds additional novel ADC to our research projects, allowing us to further build on our understanding of ADC research and ADC pipeline development.”

Peter van de Sande, head of Synaffix, said, “With its focus on innovative medicines and R&D expertise, Innovent has proven to be an ideal partner for us. Our partnership with Innovent has rapidly built momentum around IBI343 and we look forward to expanding our collaboration using our technology platform, including enabling off-the-shelf conversion of antibodies into ADCs, and Innovent’s world-leading clinical development capabilities with its strong proven track record to swiftly advance product candidates to the clinic.”