Novartis bets up to $7.8B for an mRNA-encoded T cell engager from China’s Abogen

 

Novartis is licensing an mRNA-based therapy designed to produce a CD3xCD19 T cell engager inside the body. Abogen Biosciences says the in vivo approach could reduce the likelihood of dangerous cytokine release.

Novartis is putting up to $7.8 billion on the line to work with Suzhou, China-based Abogen Biosciences on an mRNA-based approach that could mitigate a key safety concern of T cell engagers.

The agreement, announced early on Friday, will involve an upfront payment of $575 million, plus up to around $7.2 billion in potential development, regulatory and commercial milestones. Abogen could also receive royalties on any future sales.

The centerpiece of the deal is ABO2203, an mRNA drug candidate designed to deplete disease-causing B cells by giving the patient’s body the genetic code to produce a potentially therapeutic CD3xCD19 T cell engager. This in vivo approach could lower the risk of cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a common and often severe safety issue with T cell engagers, Abogen claimed in a separate press release in April.

Indeed, many FDA-approved T cell engagers carry boxed warnings for CRS. These include Roche’s Columvi, J&J’s Tecvayli and Amgen’s Blincyto.

ABO2203 has the “potential to transform the treatment landscape for patients with autoimmune diseases,” the companies announced on Friday, though the partners did not explicitly say they would focus their development efforts in this space. A spokesperson for Novartis declined in an email to disclose specific target indications for the deal.

First-in-human data for ABO2203 presented in April showed “exceptional” safety among nine patients with relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Abogen claimed at the time. Specifically, the Chinese biotech reported no cases of CRS, dose-limiting toxicities or neurological complications typically linked to immunotherapies. Abogen also touted dose-dependent objective response rates, reaching 100% at the highest dose level.

Aside from ABO2203, Novartis will also have the exclusive option to license a certain number of therapies developed through Abogen’s proprietary platform. The biotech takes an AI-centric approach to mRNA design, drug formulation and manufacturing, according to the Friday release.

“Novartis was attracted to Abogen because of its differentiated proprietary RNA platform and pioneering work in mRNA-encoded T-cell engagers and other RNA-encoded therapeutic modalities,” the spokesperson said.

Novartis has taken several trips to China this year. Just last month, the pharma licensed a radioligand asset from Suzhou’s BoomRay Pharmaceuticals for up to $900 million—a deal that could further entrench Novartis’ leadership position in the radiopharma space. And in January, the pharma fronted $150 million to partner with Shanghai- and Maryland-based SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals on an anti-amyloid therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. That deal involved up to $1.5 billion in milestones.

During the pharma’s Q2 call in July, CEO Vas Narasimhan said that Novartis is “geography-agnostic” when it comes to dealmaking, adding, “Our strategy is to just go wherever the leading science is in a given therapeutic area or in a given technology area.”

The Abogen deal also comes amid a series of setbacks for Novartis, including three deaths linked to its CAR T therapy rapcabtagene autoleucel. As a result, the pharma suspended several studies of the asset.

https://www.biospace.com/deals/novartis-bets-up-to-7-8b-for-an-mrna-encoded-t-cell-engager-from-chinas-abogen