Zymeworks Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing multifunctional therapeutics, and Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (Daiichi Sankyo) announced that they entered into a new license agreement, building upon their 2016 cross-licensing and collaboration agreement.

“With a successful track record and our first bispecific antibody incorporating the Azymetric and EFECT technology having achieved a key research milestone in 2017, we look forward to adding two more bispecific compounds to our pipeline,” said Antoine Yver, MD, MSc, executive vice president and global head, oncology research and development, Daiichi Sankyo. “We are exceptionally impressed with the robust impact that Zymeworks’ technology brings to antibody development.”

Under the terms of the second agreement, Daiichi Sankyo will acquire licenses to Zymeworks’ Azymetric and EFECT technology platforms to develop two additional bispecific antibody therapeutics. In exchange, Zymeworks will receive an upfront technology access fee of US$ 18 million and may receive up to US$ 466.7 million in potential clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. In addition, Zymeworks will receive up to double-digit tiered royalties on global product sales.“Expanding our relationship with a leading global pharmaceutical partner like Daiichi Sankyo is extremely satisfying as it underscores the power, versatility, and attractiveness of our technology platforms,” said Ali Tehrani, Ph.D., president and CEO of Zymeworks. “Having already used our platforms to discover one bispecific antibody, Daiichi Sankyo now has increased access to our technology to create additional therapeutic candidates. We are pleased to be working with a healthcare pioneer with a proven track record of over 100 years of innovation leading to major breakthroughs in patient care.”

Zymeworks and Daiichi Sankyo began working together in September 2016 through an agreement to develop one bispecific antibody therapeutic for which Zymeworks is eligible to receive preclinical, clinical, and commercial milestones payments, as well as up to double-digit tiered royalties on global product sales. Additionally, Zymeworks obtained a license to certain immuno-oncology antibodies from Daiichi Sankyo, with the right to research, develop, and commercialise multiple bispecific products globally in exchange for royalties on global product sales.

The Azymetric platform enables the transformation of monospecific antibodies into bispecific antibodies, giving them the ability to simultaneously bind two different targets. Azymetric bispecific technology enables the development of multifunctional biotherapeutics that can block multiple signaling pathways, recruit immune cells to tumors, enhance receptor clustering and degradation, and increase tumor-specific targeting.  These features are intended to enhance efficacy while reducing toxicities and the potential for drug-resistance. Azymetric bispecifics have been engineered to retain the desirable drug-like qualities of naturally occurring antibodies, including low immunogenicity, long half-life and high stability. In addition, they are compatible with standard manufacturing processes with high yields and purity, with the potential to significantly reduce drug development costs and timelines.

The EFECT platform is a library of antibody Fc modifications engineered to modulate the activity of the antibody-mediated immune response, which includes both the up- and down-regulation of effector functions. This platform, which is compatible with traditional monoclonal as well as Azymetric bispecific antibodies, further enables the customation of therapeutic responses for different diseases.

Zymeworks is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialisation of next-generation multifunctional biotherapeutics. Zymeworks’ suite of complementary therapeutic platforms and its fully-integrated drug development engine provide the flexibility and compatibility to precisely engineer and develop highly-differentiated product candidates. Zymeworks’ lead product candidate, ZW25, is a novel bispecific antibody currently being evaluated in an adaptive Phase 1 clinical trial.  Zymeworks’ second product candidate, ZW49, capitales on the unique design and antibody framework of ZW25 and is a bispecific antibody-drug conjugate, or ADC, armed with our proprietary ZymeLink cytotoxic payload. Zymeworks is also advancing a deep pipeline of preclinical product candidates and discovery-stage programs in immuno-oncology and other therapeutic areas. In addition to Zymeworks’ wholly owned pipeline, its therapeutic platforms have been further leveraged through multiple strategic partnerships with global biopharmaceutical companies.

The mission of Daiichi Sankyo Cancer Enterprise is to leverage our world-class, innovative science and push beyond traditional thinking to create meaningful treatments for patients with cancer. We are dedicated to transforming science into value for patients, and this sense of obligation informs everything we do. Anchored by three pillars including our investigational Antibody Drug Conjugate Franchise, Acute Myeloid Leukemia Franchise and Breakthrough Science, we aim to deliver seven distinct new molecular entities over eight years during 2018 to 2025.