Catalent and Triphase Accelerator announce license agreement to advance SMARTag ADC to clinic
The proprietary SMARTag site-specific protein-modification and linker technologies were developed by Redwood Bioscience to enable the generation of homogenous bioconjugates engineered to enhance potency, safety and stability
Catalent, the leading global provider of advanced delivery technologies and development solutions for drugs, biologics and consumer health products, and Triphase Accelerator Corporation, a company dedicated to acquiring and developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, has announced that Triphase will obtain worldwide rights to further develop Catalent’s proprietary CD22-4AP antibody drug conjugate (ADC), which has been developed by Catalent’s wholly owned subsidiary, Redwood Bioscience, using its SMARTag technology platform.
Catalent will receive an upfront payment and has the potential to earn additional development and commercial milestone payments, plus a royalty on product sales. Triphase will also contract with Catalent for development, manufacturing and analytical services to support a fast path to clinic.
CD22-4AP is a novel, site-specific ADC targeting CD22, a B-cell restricted sialoglycoprotein that is an important modulator of B-cell signaling and survival, which is expressed on 90% of B-cell malignancies.
CD22 is a clinically validated ADC target with potential in Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) and Acute Lymphoid Leukemia (ALL).
Catalent’s ADC, CD22-4AP, is a site-specific modified humanised antibody conjugated to a toxin payload using Catalent’s proprietary Hydrazino-Pictet-Spengler (HIPS) chemistry and proprietary 4AP linker.
Preclinical data has shown that this optimisation of payload placement and linker composition, combined with the stability afforded by HIPS chemistry, leads to better tolerability and expanded therapeutic index.
Dr Mohit Trikha, Chief Scientific Officer, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D at Triphase, commented: 'Given our deep experience in investigating potential treatment for blood cancers and oncology clinical drug development, it is a logical progression for us to explore other approaches for other haematologic tumours. We believe in the potential of Catalent’s SMARTag technology and look forward to advancing CD22-4AP to clinical proof of concept studies.'
'Triphase has demonstrated expertise and a track record in advancing preclinical oncology candidates to clinical proof of concept,' added Mike Riley, Catalent Biologics’ Vice President and General Manager. 'We look forward to leveraging Triphase’s expertise in combination with our proprietary SMARTag technology and supporting infrastructure to bring this potentially transformational treatment to patients.'
