On February 13, 2023 Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRBP) ("Corbus" or the "Company"), a precision oncology company, reported that it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with CSPC Megalith Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited (CSPC; HKEX: 01093) for development and commercialization of CRB-701 (SYS6002): a novel clinical stage antibody drug conjugate (ADC) targeting Nectin-4 (Press release, Corbus Pharmaceuticals, FEB 13, 2023, View Source [SID1234627136]). The agreement covers exclusive commercialization rights to CRB-701 in the United States, Canada, the European Union (including the European Free Trade Area), the United Kingdom, and Australia. CSPC will retain all rights to SYS6002 in the remaining global markets. The IND for CRB-701 has been cleared by the US FDA. CRB-701 is currently being investigated by CSPC in a Phase 1 dose escalation clinical trial in advanced solid tumors in China. Corbus is planning to bridge data from this Phase 1 trial to support a US clinical trial starting in 2024. Corbus and CSPC will work collaboratively to execute the clinical development of CRB-701 with Corbus responsible for the clinical development in the US and other licensed territories.

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"This agreement adds a promising clinical-stage asset with a validated mechanism of action to our pipeline and reinforces the evolution of Corbus into a precision oncology company. We will leverage the R&D infrastructure that we have established for our TGFβ modulator (CRB-601) to also enhance our understanding of Nectin-4," said Yuval Cohen, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Corbus. "By combining recent cost-reduction measures as well as prioritization of resources to this new program, we can maintain our previously stated cash runway through the second quarter of 2024."

CSPC will receive an upfront payment of $7.5 million. CSPC will also be eligible to receive royalties on net sales and up to $130 million in potential development and regulatory milestone payments and $555 million in potential commercial milestone payments.

"CRB-701 has several key features that support a differentiated profile," said Rachael Brake, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Corbus. "These include site specific conjugation chemistry that leads to low payload release in plasma, a novel Fc-enabled antibody with an improved pharmacokinetic profile and toxicology data that suggests that there is an ability to achieve higher exposures with CRB-701. We look forward to working with CSPC to advance clinical development of this asset and realize its full potential."

"This partnership with Corbus, is an example of our focused effort to bring our innovative pipeline overseas to help patients battling cancer. We look forward to collaborating with Corbus with the goal of developing this ADC as a potentially impactful treatment option to patients in need," said Zhang Cuilong, Chief Executive Officer of CSPC.

Reverse Stock Split

Concurrent with the licensing agreement, Corbus also announced a 1-for-30 reverse stock split of its common stock, effective on February 14, 2023. Beginning on February 14, 2023, the Company’s common stock will continue to trade on The Nasdaq Capital Market on a reverse split adjusted basis under the trading symbol ‘CRBP’, but will trade under the following CUSIP number: 21833P301. The reverse stock split was approved by Corbus stockholders on December 20th and is intended to increase the Company’s stock price to regain compliance with the $1.00 minimum bid price requirement of The NASDAQ Capital Market. Upon effectiveness of the reverse stock split, every thirty shares of common stock issued and outstanding will be automatically converted into one share of Corbus common stock, with no corresponding reduction in the number of authorized shares of the common stock. Any fraction of a share of common stock that would be created will be paid out to stockholders in cash equal to such fraction multiplied by the average of the closing sales prices of the common stock on The Nasdaq Capital Market for the five consecutive trading days immediately preceding the effective date of the reverse split, adjusted to give effect to the 1-for-30 reverse split.

For additional information on the reverse stock split, please refer to Corbus’ Current Report on Form 8-K filed today, February 13, 2023.