Swedish SOBI awarded rights to market Zynlonta from ADC therapeutics

ADC therapeutics has signed a deal giving Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (Sobi) rights to develop and market Zynlonta in hematologic and solid tumor indications outside of the U.S., excluding greater China, Singapore, and Japan - leaving the space for Europe among others. ADC gets USD55m up front, plus USD50m if the medicine wins European approval in third-line diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Last April, Zynlonta won FDA approval as the first and only CD19-targeted antibody drug conjugate (ADC) for adult patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL. The drug is also being evaluated as an option in combination studies in other B-cell malignancies.

Regulatory and sales milestones could provide approximately USD330m more for ADC bringing the deal close to half a billion USD.

The specific Antibody drug conjugate is comprised of a PBD–dimer toxin (pyrrolobenzodiazepine). Once bound to a CD19-expressing cell, loncastuximab tesirine-lpyl (PBD) is internalized into the cell, where enzymes release the PBD-based warhead. The warhead is designed to bind irreversibly to DNA to create highly potent interstrand cross-links that block DNA strand separation and finally lead to cell death.

The news comes in a time when Sobi just recently announced that it will decrease staff at its Stockholm manufacturing facility in response to Pfizer’s decision to move production to its own Ireland operations. Sobi published to cut about 80 positions at this timepoint, whether the new marketing deal will affect this former plans is not yet communicated.

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