Recent Articles in Deals & Financings

Japan’s Eisai Pharma formed a collaboration with SEED, a Pennsylvania biotech, to develop molecular glues for targeted protein degradation of disease-causing proteins. SEED is eligible to receive up to $1.5 billion in milestones plus royalties. SEED will lead the preclinical discovery for specified targets, some of them neurological. Eisai will have exclusive rights to develop and commercialize compounds derived from this collaboration. Eisai is also leading a Series A-3 financing for SEED with a first close of $24 million from investors. A second closing of unspecified size will take place later this year. More details....

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Curon Biopharmaceutical, a Shanghai company, out-licensed global rights for a clinical-stage bispecific candidate to Merck (MSD) for $700 million upfront plus $600 million in milestones. Curon’s CN201 is a novel CD3xCD19-targeting T-cell-engager bispecific antibody, designed to target B cells for elimination by T cells. CN201 is currently in Phase I and Phase Ib/II trials to treat relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia. Curon was founded in 2018 with $150 million in capital. Merck plans to also test CN201 in autoimmune diseases. More details....

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WuXi Biologics partnered with Medigene AG, a Munich Biotech, to design T cell receptor-guided T Cell Engagers (TCR-TCEs) aimed at difficult-to-treat tumors. The three-year effort will combine Medigen’s TCR expertise with WuXi’s anti-CD3 mAb, a TCE platform, and its proprietary bispecific antibody platform, WuXiBody™. Medigene wants to extend TCRs into new modalities, such as TCR-TCEs. The companies say the collaboration has the potential to become a multi-TCR program partnership. Wuxi Biologics is a Shanghai CRDMO focused on biologic drug development. More details....

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Huadong Medicine (Hangzhou) entered a $153 million pact for China commercialization rights to Immunopharm Technology’s IM19, a CAR T-cell immunotherapy that targets lymphoma. Huadong will pay $17.5 million upfront. IM19 injection has finished clinical trials for three indications, and Immunopharm expects to file for marketing approval before the end of the year. Immunopharm is a Beijing cell and gene therapy company. Huadong in-licenses China distribution rights for novel drugs. Previously, it acquired rights to commercialize a CARsgen CAR-T in China. More details....

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Sanyou Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai), a CRMO, formed a collaboration agreement with Guangdong JiAnTeBo Biotechnology to discover and validate new antibody candidates. Sanyou Bio will use its antibody discovery platform to identify over 200 lead antibody drug molecules. JiAnTeBo will apply its cell activity detection system for functional testing of these molecules.  Using its technology, JiAnTeBo, has discovered new targets for metabolic diseases including obesity, fatty liver, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease. The company is developing mRNA and agonist antibody drugs. More details....

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