NBE-Therapeutics in Switzerland has signed a comprehensive development and manufacturing partnership with WuXi Biologics. The China-Swiss agreement focuses on NBE-002, the first antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) lead product from the Swiss biotech company.
NBE-002 is an immune-stimulatory ADC (iADC) treatment against the ROR1 cancer target and is planned to enter into clinical trials in mid-2020 in triple negative breast cancer and other indications.
Next-gen iADC expert
Headquartered in Basel, NBE-Therapeutics was established in 2012 with the vision to develop next-generation ADC products. The company boasts proprietary platforms covering all aspects of ADC development and is financially backed by the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, the PPF Capital Partners Fund, Novo Holdings and other private investors.
Dr Ulf Grawunder, NBE-Therapeutics CEO, commented: "WuXi Biologics will be a strong partner for our next step in the development of our highly promising cancer treatments with long-lasting anti-tumour immunity.
"This collaboration will accelerate the transition of our preclinical iADC development programmes to clinical validation. We look forward to working with WuXi Biologics over the coming years to deliver improved treatment options for global cancer patients," he concluded.
The partnership with WuXi Bio will enable the supply of NBE's product for clinical trials under Investigational New Drug (IND) applications worldwide.
Dr Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics, commented: "We are glad that NBE-Therapeutics with one of the best ADC platforms in the industry selected WuXi Biologics as their long-term partner for its first highly promising anti-ROR1 ADC programme."
For Chen, this new partnership is another testament to the premier quality and global excellence of WuXi's integrated services, which continue to drive a rapid expansion of market share in Europe.
Only in Switzerland, WuXi Bio is currently working with more than 10 programmes.
