Synaffix B.V. and Hummingbird Bioscience have entered into a licensing agreement that will enable Hummingbird Bio to develop a next generation antibody drug conjugate (ADC) program using Synaffix technology.
Synaffix is a biotechnology company focused on commercializing its clinical-stage platform technology for the development of ADCs.
Hummingbird Bioscience is a data-driven precision biotherapeutics company using its rational antibody discovery (RAD) platform to discover and engineer antibodies against optimal yet elusive epitopes to unlock novel mechanisms of action.
Under the terms of the agreement, Synaffix will be eligible to receive up to $150 million, including upfront and milestone payments, plus royalties on net sales. For the target license, Hummingbird Bioscience is granted rights to utilize Synaffix proprietary ADC technologies GlycoConnect and HydraSpace, in combination with select toxSYN linker-payloads.
Peter van de Sande, CEO of Synaffix, said: “We are pleased to once again be able to strengthen a partner’s pipeline with our innovative ADC technologies. By combining our cutting-edge ADC technology platform with Hummingbird Bio’s next-generation portfolio of precision therapeutics we can further contribute towards the transformation of cancer treatment.”
“Hummingbird Bio’s RAD platform generates high affinity antibodies against unique epitopes on hard targets, potentially unlocking novel mechanisms of action. We believe that, by combining Synaffix’s ADC technologies with our antibodies, we have the potential to create best-in-class ADCs,” said Piers Ingram, CEO and co-founder of Hummingbird Bio.
“We are excited by the potential of this partnership and look forward to sharing additional updates on our ADC efforts throughout 2023.”
About Hummingbird Bioscience
The Hummingbird Bioscience model combines computational and systems biology with wet lab drug discovery in a multi-disciplinary, collaborative environment spanning initial discovery through clinical development.
The company is currently developing two clinical-stage assets: HMBD-001, a humanized anti-HER3 monoclonal antibody targeting a novel epitope on HER3, and HMBD-002, a humanized anti-VISTA IgG4 monoclonal antibody. Both programs are currently in phase 1 studies.
The Synaffix platform
The Synaffix platform enables a rapid timeline to clinic due to the established supply chain of technology components. Granted patents covering Synaffix’ technology provide end-to-end protection of the manufacturing technology as well as the resulting products through at least 2035. The business model of Synaffix is target-specific technology out-licensing, as exemplified through its existing deals with ADC Therapeutics, Mersana Therapeutics, Shanghai Miracogen, Innovent Biologics, ProfoundBio, Kyowa Kirin, Genmab, Macrogenics and Emergence Therapeutics.
The Synaffix ADC technology platform consists of GlycoConnect, HydraSpace and toxSYN technologies. These technologies are aimed at enabling best-in-class ADCs from any antibody, with significantly enhanced efficacy and tolerability.
GlycoConnect is a clinical-stage conjugation technology that exploits the native antibody glycan for site-specific and stable payload attachment and is tunable to DAR1, DAR2 or DAR4 formats. HydraSpace is a clinical-stage compact and highly polar spacer technology designed to further enhance therapeutic index, particularly with hydrophobic payloads. toxSYN is a linker-payload platform that spans key, validated MOAs for ADC product development, including SYNtecan E and SYNeamicin G, among other linker-payloads.
The combination of these three technologies provides developers with a “one stop” and easy-to-use ADC technology platform, allowing any antibody developer to develop its own proprietary ADC and any ADC developer to expand its pipeline further and increase its competitive position.
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