Benzinga | Dec 22, 2021 04:08PM EST

Adagene Reports Achieved Milestone In Its Ongoing Collab With Exelixis For Development Of Novel Masked Antibody-Drug Conjugate Candidates

- Successful nomination of lead SAFEbody candidates triggers milestone payment -

SAN DIEGO and SUZHOU, China, Dec. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adagene Inc. ("Adagene") (NASDAQ:ADAG), a biopharmaceutical company committed to transforming the discovery and development of novel antibody-based immunotherapies, today announced achievement of a key milestone in its ongoing collaboration with Exelixis for development of novel masked antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates leveraging Adagene's proprietary SAFEbody precision masking technology. Under the terms of a collaboration and licensing agreement established in early 2021, Adagene will receive a $3 million milestone payment for successful nomination of lead SAFEbody candidates for one of its collaboration programs.

"We are extremely proud of successfully providing lead SAFEbody candidates to Exelixis following the start of our collaboration earlier this year. Exelixis' selection of these lead candidates further validates our proprietary SAFEbody technology and highlights the prowess of our overall DPL platform," said Peter Luo, Ph.D., Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of Adagene. "Our SAFEbody masking technology is receiving clinical validation in our ongoing clinical trial from our anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody program, and also marks a potential paradigm shift in the way a highly potent modality such as ADCs can be designed and developed, ultimately helping to improve the lives of patients suffering from cancer and other debilitating diseases."

Under the terms of the agreement, Adagene received an upfront payment of $11 million and Exelixis can nominate two targets for development of SAFEbody candidates during the collaboration. Adagene is eligible for development and commercialization milestones, as well as royalties on net sales of products developed around each of these targets.

SAFEbody technology is designed to overcome safety and tolerability challenges associated with many antibody therapeutics by using precision masking technology to shield the binding domain of the biologic therapy. This allows for improved tumor-specific targeting of antibodies, while minimizing on-target off-tumor toxicity in healthy tissues, a longstanding challenge with many antibody therapeutics.

In addition to ongoing collaborations, Adagene also applies its SAFEbody technology to develop candidates for its wholly-owned deep, broad and differentiated pipeline. These include ADG126, an anti-CTLA-4 SAFEbody in phase 1 dose escalation as monotherapy, as well as five highly differentiated programs in IND-enabling studies such as ADG153, an anti-CD47 SAFEbody using the potent IgG1 isotype, and ADG152, anti-CD20xCD3 bispecific POWERbody(tm) T-cell engager. A total of five antibodies are in clinical development by Adagene and its partners, leveraging the company's AI-driven antibody discovery and development platform.