A roundup of bio/pharmaceutical partnering news from GSK/ABL Bio, Sanofi/Earendil Labs, Lilly/ Sangamo Therapeutics, Merck & Co./Cyprumed, and Boehringer Ingelheim/Cue Biopharma. Highlights below.  

* GSK, ABL Bio in $2.85-Bn Bispecific Antibody Drug Pact 
* Sanofi, Earendil Labs in $1.85-Bn Bispecific Antibody Drug Pact 
* Lilly, Sangamo in $1.4-Bn-AAV Capsid Licensing Pact 
* Merck & Co.,  Cyprumed in $493-M Pact for Oral Peptide Drug Delivery 
* BI, Cue Biopharma in $357-M Autoimmune Drug Pact 

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GSK, ABL Bio in $2.85-Bn Bispecific Antibody Drug Pact 
GSK has formed a worldwide licensing pact with ABL Bio, a Seongnam, South Korea-based clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company developing bispecific antibodies for immuno-oncology and neurodegenerative diseases, in a deal worth up to $2.85 billion ($102 million upfront plus up to $2.75 billion in milestone payments).   

Under the agreement, GSK will develop medicines for neurodegenerative diseases by using ABL Bio’s blood-brain barrier (BBB) shuttle platform, Grabody-B. The agreement aims to develop multiple programs for targets across therapeutic modalities, including antibody, polynucleotide or oligonucleotides, such as small interfering RNA (siRNA) and antisense oligonucleotides. ABL Bio’s BBB platform was developed to overcome the limitations of existing drugs that have difficulty crossing the BBB by targeting the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) to facilitate drug penetration across the BBB. 

 Under the agreement, ABL Bio will receive up to £77.1 million ($102.2 million) in upfront and near-term payments, including an immediate upfront payment of £38.5 million ($51 million), research milestones and potential program expansion. In total, ABL Bio is eligible to receive up to £2.075 billion ($2.75 billion) in research, development, regulatory and commercialization milestone payments across multiple potential programs. ABL Bio will receive tiered royalties on net sales if products are successfully commercialized. As part of the agreement, ABL Bio will transfer Grabody-B-related technology and know-how to GSK while GSK will assume responsibility for preclinical and clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization. 

Source: ABL Bio 

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Sanofi, Earendil Labs in $$1.85-Bn Bispecifics Antibody Drug Pact 
Sanofi has agreed to enter a licensing pact with Earendil Labs, a Middletown, Delaware-based bio/pharmaceutical company, for two investigational bispecific antibodies in the field of autoimmune and inflammatory bowel diseases, in a deal worth up to $1.85 billion ($125 million upfront and up to $1.72 billion in development and commercial milestone payments, including a $50-million near-term payment).  

Under the agreement, Sanofi will obtain exclusive worldwide rights to two bispecific antibodies, HXN-1002 for treating moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, and HXN-1003 for treating colitis and skin inflammation (in preclinical development). Both bispecific antibodies were developed using Earendil Labs’ proprietary AI and high-throughput discovery and research platform.. 

Under the deal, Earendil Labs will receive an upfront payment of $125 million and is eligible to receive up to a total of $1.72 billion in development and commercial milestone payments, including a $50-million near-term payment. Earendil Labs is eligible to receive tiered royalties on product sales ranging from the high-single to low-double digits. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions 

Source: Earendi Labs 

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Lilly, Sangamo in $1.4-Bn-AAV Capsid Licensing Pact 
Eli Lilly and Company has formed a license agreement with Sangamo Therapeutics, a Richmond, California-based genetics medicines company, to allow Lilly to use Sangamo’s proprietary neurotropic adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid, STAC-BBB, in a deal worth up to $1.4 billion ($12 million upfront and up to $1.4 billion in additional licensed target fees and milestone payments).  

STAC-BBB has demonstrated in preclinical development potential blood-brain barrier penetration and neuronal transduction in the delivery of genetic medicines, according to information from Sangamo Therapeutics. The agreement grants Lilly a worldwide exclusive license to use the STAC-BBB capsid for one initial target, with the right to add up to four additional targets after paying additional licensed target fees, to deliver its intravenously administered genomic medicines to treat certain diseases of the central nervous system. 

Under the agreement, Sangamo is responsible for completing a technology transfer related to the STAC-BBB capsid. Lilly is responsible for all research, preclinical and clinical development, regulatory interactions, manufacturing, and global commercialization of any resulting gene-therapy products. Sangamo will receive an $18 million upfront license fee from Lilly and is eligible to earn up to $1.4 billion in additional licensed target fees and milestone payments across the five potential neurology disease targets as well as tiered royalties on potential net sales of such products, subject to certain specified reductions. 

Source: Sangamo Therapeutics 

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Merck & Co.,  Cyprumed in $493-M Pact for Oral Peptide Drug Delivery 
Merck & Co/MSD has formed a non-exclusive and option agreement with Cyprumed, an Innsbruck, Austria-based drug-delivery company, to develop oral formulations of Merck’s  peptides using Cyprumed’s drug delivery technology, in a deal worth up to $493 million.  

Under the agreement, Merck gains non-exclusive global rights to Cyprumed’s oral peptide delivery platform for an undisclosed number of targets. The agreement also grants Merck the option to exclusively license Cyprumed’s technology for use with individual targets. Cyprumed will be eligible to receive up to $493 million in upfront, development, regulatory and net sales milestones associated with the approval of any products under the collaboration. Cyprumed may receive additional payments if Merck exercises its exclusive license option. Merck will be responsible for the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of any product using Cyprumed’s delivery technology under the agreement. 

Source: Cyprumed 

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BI, Cue Biopharma in $357-M Autoimmune Drug Pact 
Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) has announced a strategic research collaboration and license agreement with Cue Biopharma, a Boston-based clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company, to develop and commercialize Cue Biopharma’s preclinical product candidate for treating autoimmune diseases in a deal worth up to $357 million.  

Cue Biopharma is developing a class of therapeutic biologics to selectively engage and modulate disease-specific T cells for the potential treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. CUE-501 is a differentiated B cell depletion therapy for autoimmune diseases. The molecule binds to a B cell specific membrane protein and in parallel selectively engages virus-specific memory killer T cells to enable it to selectively deplete B cells and dampen autoimmune and inflammatory processes, potentially offering improved benefit and safety versus other therapeutic approaches targeting B cells, according to information from Cue Biopharma.  

Under the agreement, Cue Biopharma’s technology will be used to further research and advance the development of the candidate molecule. The terms of the multi-year collaboration also include the ability of the parties to expand research and potential development into various B-cell-targeting bispecifics encompassing autoimmune diseases. Cue Biopharma is entitled to receive an up-front payment of $12 million as well as research support payments. In addition, Cue Biopharma is also eligible to earn up to an aggregate of approximately $345 million in research, development and commercial milestone-based payments, beginning with two preclinical development milestones as well as royalty payments on net sales. 

Source: Cue Biopharma