These therapeutic antibodies include ‘blood-brain barrier (BBB)’ penetrating bispecific antibodies (BsAb) (VEGF/undisclosed BBB target BsAb, undisclosed target/undisclosed BBB target BsAb); immune cell engaging bispecific antibodies (4-1BB/undisclosed target BsAb, 4-1BB/ undisclosed target BsAb); and a monoclonal antibody against undisclosed target.
Under the terms of the agreement, TRIGR will pay a total upfront fee of USD $4.3 million to license global rights (except for South Korea) to 5 antibodies currently under development by ABL Bio.
ABL Bio will also receive research, regulatory and sales-based milestones of more than USD $550 million in total plus royalties. In addition, TRIGR shall share the licensing revenue with ABL Bio in the event of out-licenses to a 3rd party. The deal is expected to close before the end of July.
George Uy, TRIGR founder and CEO, commented that “we are honored to be chosen as the partner of ABL Bio for their oncology pipeline. These assets include: a) BsAbs designed to cross the blood brain barrier more efficiently combating brain tumors and b) immuno-modulating BsAbs engineered for dual engagement of the body’s immune cells (T cells and NK cells) against tumor-associated antigens in the tumor microenvironment.
“The antibodies truly represent the next wave in cancer immunotherapy. It is TRIGR’s mission to identify and develop novel and paradigm-shifting immunotherapies. The delivery of antibodies into the brain, a privileged tissue in the human body and one of the last frontiers of drug delivery, to treat malignant gliomas and other brain cancers might enable TRIGR to bring new desperately-needed therapies to patients and their caregivers.”
Dr. Sang Hoon Lee, CEO of ABL Bio added, “ABL Bio is at the cutting-edge discovery of novel therapeutic antibodies with unique therapeutic applications. Our blood-brain barrier penetrating antibodies are potentially best-in-class in the industry globally.”
TRIGR is a privately-owned company based in Irvine, California focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for unmet medical needs. TRIGR strives to be a global pharmaceutical company with a focus on the Pacific Rim region for clinical and commercial development.
TRIGR is assembling a world-class management team that is based in the US and China/Hong Kong as it executes on the development of its programs together with its research collaboration partner, ABL Bio.