Novartis has had some bad luck with bispecific antibodies in the past, but judging by the pharma’s latest deal it still has faith in the modality.
Under the terms of this partnership, Bay Area-based Dren Bio and Novartis will collaborate on discovering and developing new bispecific antibodies for cancer using Dren Bio’s Targeted Myeloid Engager and Phagocytosis Platform, according to a Wednesday release.
Dren will receive $150 million upfront from Novartis, including a $25 million equity investment, with up to $2.85 billion to play for in milestone payments. Should the collaboration lead to a new drug program, Novartis will take over development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization.
“Our agreement with Dren Bio is a promising opportunity to discover novel bispecific antibody therapies for cancer, building on our longstanding expertise in immuno-oncology science at Novartis,” Shiva Malek, Ph.D., global head of oncology for biomedical research at Novartis, said in the release.
Dren Bio’s lead asset is DR-01, which targets autoreactive CD8 T cells and is currently in phase 2 trials for cytotoxic lymphomas. The biotech’s platform is designed to activate myeloid cells by engaging a phagocytotic receptor that is only expressed on those cells.
Novartis’ previous forays into bispecific antibodies haven’t always worked out. As part of a wider clearout of 10% of its R&D pipeline in April 2023, the Swiss pharma dropped a BCMAxCD3 bispecific antibody that was being studied in multiple myeloma. Novartis said at the time that it had dropped the drug because it faced stiff competition from other companies also targeting BCMA.
Before that, Novartis licensed two bispecifics from Xenor as part of a $2.6 billion deal in 2016. But by 2021, the pharma had dropped both candidates.