AbbVie is diversifying its oncology pipeline, paying $650 million for a clinical-stage drug that goes after two targets to fight cancer. It’s the latest in a series of industry transactions for assets in this emerging drug class, and like the others, AbbVie’s new large molecule comes from China.
The drug, RC148, was developed by Yantai, China-based RemeGen. The deal terms announced Monday give AbbVie global rights to RC148 excluding Greater China, where RemeGen retains rights.
The protein targets of RC148 are PD-1 on immune cells and VEGF on cancer cells. PD-1 is a so-called checkpoint protein that stops immune cells from recognizing cancer cells; blocking it enables the immune system to respond to tumors. VEGF promotes the formation of blood vessels that feed tumor growth. RC148 is a bispecific antibody designed to block PD-1 and VEGF simultaneously.
Beyond bringing the immune system into the cancer fight, the dual mechanism of a bispecific antibody is hoped to overcome the ways tumors become resistant to drugs. This approach also makes the tumor microenvironment, the ecosystem around a tumor, more favorable for the class of cancer medicines called antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). For that reason, companies are exploring combinations of PD-1 and VEGF bispecifics with ADCs.
AbbVie and Remegen said early clinical testing of RC148 “has shown initial favorable antitumor activity” in combination with an ADC. Furthermore, AbbVie also sees opportunities to use the RemeGen drug as part of combinations with the North Chicago pharma company’s own ADCs, including the experimental drug telisotuzumab adizutecan, in solid tumors, such as non-small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer.
“By combining the immune checkpoint inhibition and anti-angiogenic activity of RC148 together with the targeted cytotoxic activity of ADCs, we have the potential to identify meaningful options for patients across a range of solid tumors,” AbbVie’s Daejin Abidoye, president, therapeutic area head, oncology, solid tumor and hematology, said in a prepared statement.
AbbVie may have more to say about the drug and its cancer drug strategy later this week. The company is scheduled to hold a fireside chat Wednesday morning during the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.
Companies with PD(L)1/VEGF bispecific antibodies from China include Summit Therapeutics, Merck, BioNTech, and Pfizer. Crescent Biopharma has a PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody from the U.S.; last month, the company struck a deal with Kelun Biotech to secure rights to that China-based biotech’s ADC to develop it as a monotherapy and as part of drug combinations.
Instil Bio was developing a PD-L1/VEGF bispecific licensed from a China-based company, but last week announced it would discontinue development and terminate the license. Instil gave no reason, but the company may have concluded the asset was no longer competitive in this increasingly competitive field.
The financial community is taking note of the growing competition in bispecific antibodies. In a note sent to investors, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said Remegen’s RC148 has the potential to become a blockbuster product for AbbVie, but the landscape of PD-1/VEGF bispecfic antibodies is crowded. Data showing differentiation could be coming soon. The Remegen drug is currently being evaluated in three Phase 2 tests in China in breast cancer among other types of solid tumors. All three studies are expected to generate data this year, Risinger said.
Beyond the upfront payment, the deal terms announced Monday make AbbVie responsible for paying up to $4.95 billion in milestone payments. AbbVie will also be responsible for paying royalties on sales of RC148, outside of Greater China, if the drug reaches the market.
AbbVie Expands Its Manufacturing Capabilities
In other AbbVie news, the pharma company announced Monday that it has reached a deal to acquire a West Pharmaceutical Services manufacturing site in Tempe, Arizona. AbbVie said this transaction is part of a broader $10 billion capital commitment to expand its U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing.
For the Tempe site, AbbVie said it plans to hire about 200 employees and invest more than $175 million. Beyond the paying for the acquisition, that sum will go toward modernizing and integrating the site into AbbVie’s global manufacturing network. AbbVie did not say which drugs it plans to manufacture in Tempe, other than to say the transaction includes the transfer of multiple production lines and on-body injector technology to support production of current and next-generation AbbVie drugs in immunology and neuroscience.
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