Canadian biotherapeutics firm Zymeworks has signed a collaboration and licence agreement with UK's GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to develop and commercialise new Fc-engineered monoclonal and bi-specific antibody therapeutics.
The companies will jointly develop Zymeworks' Effector Function Enhancement and Control Technology (EFECT) platform by designing, engineering and testing new engineered Fc domains with specific antibody-mediated immune responses.
The EFECT platform features antibody Fc modifications engineered to change the antibody-mediated immune response activity, including both the up and down-regulation of effector functions.
It is compatible with traditional monoclonal and bi-specific antibodies made via Zymeworks' Azymetric platform.
As part of the deal, GSK will hold the right to develop a minimum of four products across various disease areas, while Zymeworks will be eligible to get up to $110m per product for achieving preclinical, clinical, and commercial milestones, as well as tiered sales royalties.
Upon completion of the research collaboration, both firms will have the right for development and commercialisation of monoclonal and bi-specific antibody candidates featuring the Fc domains.
Zymeworks president and CEO Ali Tehrani said: "This is a unique opportunity for Zymeworks to apply our antibody engineering expertise in collaboration with GSK's drug discovery capabilities to develop and commercialise novel antibody therapeutics.
"The collaboration will also allow Zymeworks to combine the novel immune-modulating Fc domains with our Azymetric platform to generate bi-specific antibodies with customised immune modulatory functions."
Zymeworks is focused on developing Azymetric bi-specific antibodies and antibody drug conjugates to treat cancer, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
The company's new Azymetric, AlbuCORE, and EFECT platforms, as well as its proprietary ZymeCAD structure-guided protein engineering technology. It will be helping in the development of highly potent bi-specific antibodies and multivalent protein therapeutics across a range of indications.
