Aiming T-cell engagers at autoimmune diseases continues to be a red-hot dealmaking target, as evidenced by Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s decision to pay $47 million upfront for the ex-China rights to Harbour BioMed’s BCMAxCD3 bispecific candidate.
The therapy, dubbed HBM7020, has yet to enter the clinic, although Harbour secured the green light from Chinese authorities back in 2023 to take the asset into a phase 1 cancer study. The theory behind HBM7020 is that dual anti-BCMA binding sites enhance the therapy’s ability to target cancer cells specifically while monovalent-optimized CD3 activity minimizes cytokine release syndrome, according to a June 22 release.
As well as the upfront fee, Harbour will be eligible to receive up to $623 million in development and commercial milestone payments as well as tiered royalties on future net sales.
The deal “establishes a foundation for potential future partnerships between the two companies in the T-cell engager area,” Harbour said in the release.
Rather than focus on cancer, Otsuka’s plans are to target HBM7020 at autoimmune conditions. In fact, the two companies said today’s licensing deal also marked the start of “a global strategic collaboration … to advance BCMAxCD3 bispecific T-cell engagers for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.”
“This collaboration underscores the strength of Harbour BioMed's proprietary Harbour Mice and HBICE technology platforms, which enable the rapid development of fully human bispecific antibodies with optimized safety and efficacy profiles,” Harbour CEO Jingsong Wang, M.D., Ph.D., said.
“By leveraging our unique capabilities, we are well-positioned to advance next-generation biotherapeutics that can make a meaningful difference in patients' lives worldwide,” the CEO added.
Otsuka should have the space to develop HBM7020, having cleared out a clutch of cancer candidates from its pipeline earlier this year.
The Japanese company is using the antibody-drug conjugate and small-molecule platforms of its Visterra and Jnana Therapeutics subsidiaries, respectively, to expand further into autoimmune disease, Otsuka’s President Makoto Inoue explained in the release.
“HBM7020 is expected to demonstrate efficacy in a broad range of autoimmune diseases in which B cells play a major role in disease pathogenesis, and we hope to contribute further to the field of specialized autoimmune diseases and thereby benefit patients,” Inoue added.
Earlier this month, Cullinan Therapeutics paid $20 million upfront to get its hands on another BCMAxCD3 bispecific T-cell engager that the biotech also plans to use for autoimmune disease when paired with its own CD19 candidate.