Following Amgen, Hummingbird Jumps Onto Synaffix’s ADC Platform In $150 Million Licensing Deal

Singapore-based Hummingbird Bioscience and Synaffix have entered into an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) licensing agreement. The deal will enable Hummingbird Bio to combine its Rational Antibody Discovery (RAD) platform with Synaffix’s ADC development technologies to generate an ADC candidate. 

Synaffix’s offerings include their proprietary GlycoConnect and HydraSpace technologies as well as their toxSYN linker-payloads. The company is eligible to receive up to $150 million, including an undisclosed upfront payment and milestones, plus royalties on net sales. 

This is Synaffix’s second deal of the day, after a similar licensing agreement with Amgen which could earn the company up to $2 billion in milestones.

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From RAD Antibody Discovery To ADC

Hummingbird Bio’s RAD platform is designed to discover antibodies against hard-to-target epitopes, the part of an antigen that the immune system recognizes. The model is driven by computational and systems biology. 

The company’s clutch includes HMBD-001, a humanized antibody that targets an epitope of HER3, and HMBD-002, which targets VISTA, an immune regulatory receptor. Both programs are currently in Phase 1 studies. 

In the case of the Synaffix deal, antibodies generated by RAD will be put through Synaffix’s GlycoConnect, a conjugation technology that enables payload attachment to the native antibody glycan. Next, HydraSpace, a highly polar spacer technology, will further enhance the therapeutic index, particularly with hydrophobic payloads. Finally, the linker-payload system toxSYN will be used to attach Synaffix’s toxic payloads such as SYNtecan E or SYNeamicin G.  

Synaffix has out-licensed its ADC technology to many companies in the past, including ADC Therapeutics, Innovent Biologics, Kyowa Kirin, and Genmab. Three programs from the various collaborations have entered Phase 1 development. 

“Hummingbird Bio’s RAD platform generates high-affinity antibodies against unique epitopes on hard targets, potentially unlocking novel mechanisms of action. We believe that, by combining Synaffix’s ADC technologies with our antibodies, we have the potential to create best-in-class ADCs,” said Piers Ingram, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Hummingbird Bio. 

“We are excited by the potential of this partnership and look forward to sharing additional updates on our ADC efforts throughout 2023.”

Author

Joy Lin

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