SOTIO partners with Biocytogen to expand ADC pipeline
Czech Sotio Biotech has inked an R&D and licence option agreement with Chinese antibody maker Biocytogen.
Under the agreement, Prague-based SOTIO Biotech AS will pay up to US$325.5m biobucks to use Biocytogen’s RenLite antibody discovery platform to design bispecific antibody drug conjugates (ADC) that home in on selected different cancer targets. The amount of the upfront payment was not specified. Biocytogen will be eligible to receive single-digit royalties on net sales on a product-by-product basis. SOTIO will be responsible for preclinical and clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialisation of the ADC products.
The contract also grants SOTIO the option to license multiple fully human bispecific antibodies generated with Biocytogen’s proprietary RenLite platform, which SOTIO will use to develop next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting solid tumours. The agreement also includes an option for SOTIO to leverage Biocytogen’s proprietary ADC platform. Founded on gene editing technology, Biocytogen leverages genetically engineered proprietary RenMice (RenMab/RenLite/RenNano/RenTCR-mimic) platforms for fully human monoclonal/bispecific/multispecific antibody discovery, bispecific antibody-drug conjugate discovery, nanobody discovery and TCR-mimic antibody discovery, and has established a sub-brand, RenBiologicsTM, to explore global partnerships for an off-the-shelf library of >400,000 fully human antibody sequences against approximately 1000 targets for worldwide collaboration. As of December 31, 2023, 103 therapeutic antibody and multiple clinical asset co-development/out-licensing/transfer agreements and 47 target-nominated RenMice® licensing projects have been established around the globe
“This agreement with Biocytogen complements our existing collaborations with Synaffix, LegoChem, and NBE-Therapeutics, providing SOTIO with access to fully human antibodies from Biocytogen’s state-of-the-art in vivo discovery platform,” said Martin Steegmaier, CEO of SOTIO. ”With the first targets for a bispecific program already selected, we are well-positioned to expand our ADC pipeline and the therapeutic possibilities for patients with solid tumours.”
The eight RenMice platforms can be used to discover fully human antibodies with high affinity, low immunogenicity, and favourable developability.
Currently, the SOTIO pipeline includes three clinical-stage programs: SOT102, a next-generation Claudin-18.2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate; BOXR1030, a metabolically-enhanced CAR-T cell therapy targeting GPC3-expressing tumours; and SOT201, a next-generation PD-1-targeting immunocytokine. SOTIO is a member of the PPF Grouphttps://european-biotechnology.com/latest-news/pff-group-nv-acquires-stake-in-autolus-therapeutics/.
