On October 23, 2019 Ambrx and NovoCodex Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., (NovoCodex), a majority owned company of Zhejiang Medicine Co Ltd., reported that they have formed a second collaboration to develop and commercialize Ambrx’s internally developed site-specific antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). Under the agreement, Ambrx and NovoCodex will join forces to continue the development of ARX305, an Ambrx enabled ADC for the treatment of CD70 positive cancers.
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Under the terms of the agreement, NovoCodex is responsible for developing and commercializing ARX305 in China while Ambrx is responsible for developing and commercializing ARX305 outside of China. NovoCodex will fund global development activities to the end of Phase 1 clinical trials and pay Ambrx an undisclosed upfront payment, development milestones, and a double digit royalty on product sales in China. NovoCodex is also eligible to share in undisclosed portion of ARX305 product sales outside of China.
"We are excited to initiate our second collaboration with NovoCodex following our successful collaboration with ARX788, which is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials for HER2 positive breast and gastric cancers. ARX305 is a natural extension to the first collaboration with the inclusion of another Ambrx enabled ADC that is intended to treat CD70 positive cancers such as Renal Cell Carcinoma and Multiple Myeloma. Further, we continue to align ourselves with China’s leading pharmaceutical companies," said Feng Tian, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Ambrx. "ARX305, which is expected to start Phase 1 clinical trials in early 2021, allows Ambrx to expand its ADC pipeline into multiple cancer types while gaining access to the China market through our partnership with NovoCodex."
Chunbo Li, Chairman of Zhejiang Medicine, commented, "The smooth progress of our first ZMC-Ambrx collaborated ADC project, ARX788, proves that Ambrx’ technology is one of the best methods to make an ADC drug. The new alliance with Ambrx on ARX305 will strengthen our leading position on ADC research, and hopefully will bring new treatment to related cancer patients."
(Press release, Ambrx, OCT 23, 2019, View Source [SID1234671132])