F-star Announces Collaboration with Takeda to Develop Next Generation Immunotherapeutics

F-star Therapeutics announced that they have entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Takeda to develop next-generation immunotherapeutics for cancer patients. According to the agreement, both companies will jointly research and develop bispecific antibodies for immunotherapeutics. Additionally, the British biotech will receive funding for future research for the duration of the agreement. 

Related Article: Takeda Throws $1 Million at F-star to Develop Bispecific Antibody For Novel Cancer Therapies

F-star and Takeda’s Continued Collaboration 

The terms of the agreement state that both companies will jointly research and develop new Fcab domains against immuno-oncology targets. Furthermore, under the agreement, Takeda will have the exclusive right to license and market antibodies arising from the collaboration that contain F-star’s Fcab domains. On the other hand, F-star will retain the right to develop and commercialize other Fcab domains. 

Additionally, F-star will receive an upfront payment and research funding. The amount of the upfront payment remains undisclosed, and the duration of the funding will be that of the collaboration. F-star is also eligible to receive up to $1 billion for future development and commercialization if the milestones for their various programs are achieved during the agreement’s timeframe. F-star will also be entitled to royalties on the commercial products resulting from their license. 

The Head of F-star Therapeutics and Chief Scientific Officer, Neil Brewis, Ph.D., said, “We are delighted to expand our relationship with Takeda who shares our vision of developing pioneering multi-specific immunotherapies so more people with cancer can live longer with improved lives. This strategic collaboration leverages the capabilities of both companies by combining F-star’s clinically validated Fcab™ and mAb² ™ platforms with Takeda’s unique understanding of the immune system and its ability to progress drugs to the clinic.” This will be the third agreement between Takeda and F-star of this nature. Previously, two license agreements had been made for immune-oncology bispecific antibodies in July 2022 and March 2023. 

F-star’s Bispecific Antibody Platform 

F-star is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is pioneering bispecific antibodies in immunotherapy. They are accomplishing this through their Fcab and mAb² platforms. F-star is developing tetravalent bispecific antibodies in order to transform cancer patients’s lives. F-star’s Fcab platform allows them to create two additional antibody bonding sites in the Fc region. Their mAb² platform is designed to activate the immune system through crosslinking, clustering, and conditionality. On this platform, crosslinking is the bringing together of two cells that activate the immune system. Clustering refers to when the receptors on the cell’s surface are brought together. Finally, conditionality is when the immune cells are only activated when they are bound to their bispecifcs, for safe activation.

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GeneOnline Team