Mersana Therapeutics and Endo to develop antibody drug conjugates
Potential for Mersana to receive milestones and royalty payments worth US$270m
Mersana Therapeutics has entered into a collaboration agreement with Endo Pharmaceuticals to develop next-generation antibody drug conjugates (ADCs).
Cambridge, MA, US-based Mersana’s proprietary conjugation technology consists of the company’s Fleximer polymer and an array of customisable linker chemistries for attaching diverse, potent payloads and targeted antibodies.
Under the agreement, Endo will pay an upfront fee to Mersana for the rights to the Fleximer technology to develop novel ADC candidates against a single cancer target.
‘Our proprietary conjugation technologies, centred on Fleximer, are particularly well-suited to expand the therapeutic potential of ADCs by enabling greater cytotoxic payload, diverse mechanisms of action, better tumour penetration, and improved stability achieved with optimised linkers,’ said Nick Bacopoulos, chief executive of Mersana.
Under the collaboration, Mersana is responsible for conducting research and creating ADCs that are conjugates of the company's diverse, highly potent cytotoxic payloads, its Fleximer polymer and custom linkers, and Endo's novel antibodies.
In addition to providing novel antibodies, Endo will handle product development, manufacturing and marketing of any Fleximer-ADC products.
Mersana and Endo may mutually agree to pursue two additional targets over the next two years. In the event that all three targets are pursued, Mersana is eligible to receive more than US$270m in progress-dependent milestones as well as royalties on worldwide net sales of any resulting ADC products.
‘The collaboration with Mersana further enhances Endo’s discovery and early development portfolio and is validation of our collaborative r&d approach for drug discovery and development,’ said Ivan Gergel, executive vp of r&d and chief scientific officer, Endo Pharmaceuticals.