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news.Seattle Genetics has exercised an option to co-develop an additional antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) under existing ADC collaboration agreement with Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma’s affiliate Agensys.
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Known as ASG-15ME, the ADC aims at the tumor antigen SLITRK6, which is known to be expressed on bladder and lung cancer.
Seattle Genetics chief operating officer Eric Dobmeier said that through the collaboration and co-development agreements with companies like Agensys/Astellas, Seattle Genetics continues to enhance its ability to innovate by combining the company’s ADC technology with cancer targets and antibodies to develop potential new treatments for patients with cancer.
"ADCs represent a novel therapeutic approach, and through our pipeline and collaborations more than half of the ADC candidates in clinical development utilize our technology," Dobmeier added.
Agensys has submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a phase 1 trial of ASG-15ME.
ASG-15ME has showed antitumor activity in models of bladder and lung cancer preclinically.
The antibody is attached to a potent, synthetic cytotoxic agent, monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), through an enzyme-cleavable linker using Seattle Genetics’ technology.
The ADC is intended to be stable in the bloodstream, but to release MMAE upon internalization into SLITRK6-expressing tumor cells, resulting in targeted cell-killing.
Seattle is planning to make an option exercise payment and fund half of the future development costs for the ASG-15ME program.