The companies originally entered into a commercial license and collaboration agreement in October 2011 under which Seattle Genetics had the right to exercise a co-development option for tisotumab vedotin at the end of Phase I clinical development.
Tisotumab vedotin, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting tissue factor, is currently being evaluated in Phase I/II clinical studies in solid tumours. Going forward, Genmab and Seattle Genetics will co-develop and equally share all future costs and profits for tisotumab vedotin.
Dr Jan van de Winkel, CEO of Genmab, said: "The combination of Genmab’s differentiated HuMax-TF antibody and Seattle Genetics’ clinically-validated antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology has resulted in encouraging preliminary data for tisotumab vedotin in selected solid tumours. We very much look forward to working with Seattle Genetics to further develop this exciting first-in-class ADC product."
Dr Clay Siegall, President and CEO of Seattle Genetics, said: “Our ADC partnership with Genmab has generated promising Phase I/II data for tisotumab vedotin in patients with recurrent cervical cancer.
"As Seattle Genetics opts into co-development of this clinical programme, we add another potential product to our strong pipeline. Together with Genmab, we look forward to advancing tisotumab vedotin for the treatment of solid tumours."
Preliminary data from the ongoing Phase I/II study of tisotumab vedotin in solid tumours (GEN701) were announced in June 2017, demonstrating anti tumour activity and manageable safety in recurrent cervical cancer patients.
Updated preliminary data from the Phase I/II study will be presented in an oral presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 Congress in Madrid (Spain), 8–12 September 2017.
