- Kyowa Kirin expands the license agreement with one new ADC to a total of three ADC programs
- Kyowa Kirin also exercises exclusive target option for development and commercialization against an undisclosed ADC target
- Decisions driven by highly competitive preclinical therapeutic index demonstrated by Kyowa Kirin’s lead program that was built by using Synaffix ADC technology
- Triggers $5 million immediate payment to Synaffix and total potential payments for the first ADC program alone of up to $171m plus royalties on commercial sales
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – June 30, 2022 – Synaffix B.V. (Synaffix), a biotechnology company focused on commercializing its clinical-stage platform technology for the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with best-in-class therapeutic index, today announces that Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd. (Kyowa Kirin, TSE:4151), a global specialty pharmaceutical company that strives to create new value through the pursuit of advances in life sciences and technologies, has expanded the license agreement with Synaffix (announced in August 2021) by adding a third ADC target to its research evaluation and development efforts under this deal. In addition it exercised its option to take exclusive development and commercialization rights for an undisclosed ADC target under the terms of this agreement.
This follows a successful initial research collaboration between the companies whereby Kyowa Kirin has demonstrated a highly competitive preclinical therapeutic index for its lead program under this collaboration, prepared from a Kyowa Kirin antibody using Synaffix’s ADC technology.
The technology licensed from Synaffix include GlycoConnect™, HydraSpace™, and multiple toxSYN™ linker-payloads, which allow for the drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR) to be tailored to 1, 2 or 4 to optimize the therapeutic index of the ADC.
Under the terms of the amended license agreement, Synaffix will receive an immediate payment of $5 million and is eligible to receive total potential payments for the first ADC program alone of up to $171m plus royalties on commercial sales.
Floris van Delft, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Synaffix, said:
We are thrilled with the successful ADC data, expansion of this license agreement and to see a leading global pharmaceutical company like Kyowa Kirin deploying Synaffix ADC technology in order to fulfill its mission of improving the lives of patients with cancer worldwide.
