T-cell engagers remain a hot therapeutic target for Big Pharma, and, now, Seagen is the latest drugmaker that wants in on the action, inking a deal with Lava Therapeutics.
Seattle-based Seagen will pay $50 million upfront for the exclusive license to preclinical therapy LAVA-1223, which is designed to activate gamma-delta T cells in solid tumors that express epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Lava will also be in line to receive up to $650 million in biobucks, while Seagen gets the opportunity to negotiate rights to use Lava’s Gammabody platform of bispecific gamma-delta T-cell engagers for two other tumor targets.
Gamma-delta T cells are lymphocytes that play a role in natural and induced immunity to cancer. The niche has lagged behind other immuno-oncology approaches such as those focused on CD4+ helper and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells. But it has risen in prominence in recent years as researchers have linked the presence of gamma-delta T cells in tumors to positive outcomes, and Japanese pharma giant Takeda acquired gamma-delta-focused Adaptate Therapeutics in January.
For Seagen, the deal offers a chance to expand its remit beyond antibody-drug conjugates. “This agreement represents the company’s entry into a novel class of therapeutics that are designed to overcome the challenges of standard T-cell engagers by leveraging the activity of a distinct T-cell subset,” said Seagen’s chief medical officer and interim CEO Roger Dansey, M.D., in a Sept. 26 release.
“This agreement enables Lava to further validate its platform in a second solid tumor product candidate, bringing us closer toward our goal of generating effective Gammabody medicines for cancer patients,” Lava CEO Stephen Hurly said in the release.
Lava set up shop in 2016 to build on work Hans van der Vliet, M.D., Ph.D., and his team performed in Amsterdam but only really put itself on the map two years later when Gilde Healthcare and Versant Ventures led a 16 million euro financing round. Seagen isn’t the first pharma to see the potential in Lava’s work, with Johnson & Johnson signing a collaboration in 2020 to develop gamma delta T-cell engagers.