Under the terms of the agreement, the Dutch company will obtain exclusive rights to CliCr, which it will combine with its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology platform. The move, it said, will significantly enhance the versatility across cytotoxic payloads.
Its ADC platform comprises GlycoConnect and HydraSpac technology, while its toxSYN linker-payload platform rounds out the technology platform. The combination of the 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 increase its competitive position, claims the developer.
Floris van Delft, CSO, Synaffix, said that Cristal’s CliCr fits well with its GlycoConnect technology for ADCs, not only by allowing highly rapid conjugation with minimal linker-drug excess and thus lowering COGs, but also by further expanding the repertoire of payloads suitable for conjugation by enhancing reactivity, stability, and hydrophilicity.
“This deal comes at an exciting time as we have recently seen the Noble Prize for Chemistry awarded for the development of click chemistry, enabling companies like Synaffix to develop best-in-class drug candidates for oncology and other indications,” he added.
Cristianne Rijcken, CSO, Cristal said the deal represents a milestone in the execution of that company’s strategy to commercialize CliCr in different fields of therapeutic bioconjugates.
ADC technology out-licensing
The business model of Synaffix is target-specific technology out-licensing. Last month saw Emergence Therapeutics become the tenth company to license ADC technology from the Amsterdam-based firm, in a deal with a total potential value of up to US$360m, plus royalties on commercial sales.
Synaffix also has existing deals with ADC Therapeutics, Mersana Therapeutics, Shanghai Miracogen, Innovent Biologics, ProfoundBio, Kyowa Kirin, Genmab, and Macrogenics.