TOKYO and BASKING RIDGE, New Jersey and BERLIN, Oct. 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (hereafter, Daiichi Sankyo) and Glycotope GmbH (hereafter, Glycotope) have signed an option agreement for future strategic collaboration and licensing to develop an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) by combining Daiichi Sankyo's proprietary ADC technology with Glycotope's investigational tumor-associated TA-MUC1 antibody PankoMab-GEX^®.

Under the terms of the agreement, once a feasibility study has been successfully completed, Daiichi Sankyo has the right to exercise its option for worldwide exclusive rights to develop and commercialize PankoMab-GEX ADC. If Daiichi Sankyo exercises these rights, Glycotope will receive an upfront payment as well as development and sales milestone payments plus royalties. Specific financial terms have not been disclosed.

"This strategic partnership is part of our overall strategy to maximize the potential of our ADC technology by seeking partnerships where our proprietary linker and payload as well as our unique protein engineering capabilities can be applied to new antibodies and targets," said Tom Held, Vice President, Global Head, Antibody Drug Conjugate Task Force, Daiichi Sankyo. "We look forward to working with Glycotope to combine our scientific expertise to develop a new ADC that can deliver smart chemotherapy to cancer cells."

"Entering into this agreement with such a renowned partner as Daiichi Sankyo is an important achievement for Glycotope's core expertise of tumor-targeted monoclonal antibodies," said Roland Sand, Chairman of the Board, Glycotope.

"We are excited about the opportunity to enter into this collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo, which without doubt adds great value to our glycoepitope-targeting program as well as the oncological pipeline," added Henner Kollenberg, Managing Director, Glycotope.  

ADCs are a type of targeted cancer medicine that deliver cytotoxic chemotherapy ("payload") to cancer cells via a linker attached to a monoclonal antibody that binds to a specific target expressed on cancer cells. Daiichi Sankyo's proprietary ADC technology is designed to deliver enhanced cancer cell destruction upon release inside the cell and reduce systemic exposure to the chemotherapy payload compared to the way chemotherapy is commonly delivered. PankoMab-GEX^® is an investigational monoclonal antibody that enables tumor-specific binding to a novel carbohydrate-induced conformational epitope, the TA-MUC1, which is extensively expressed in many tumor types including ovarian, lung and breast.¹

About Glycotope

Glycotope, founded in 2000 in Berlin, focuses on the development of innovative immune-oncological products for the treatment of various cancer types using their GlycoBody and GlycoExpress® technologies. Glycotope has currently two products in clinical development. The Company's additional pipeline includes preclinical antibody biopharmaceuticals for various oncological indications. Glycotope's GlycoExpress® (GEX®) platform allows glyco-optimization and high yield production of a variety of fully human glycosylated biopharmaceuticals such as antibodies, glycoprotein hormones, coagulation factors and cytokines by using a toolbox of glyco-engineered proprietary human cell lines that allow for optimization of a whole series of different relevant sugars. In addition, the GEX® platform can be used for in process glycosylation control. Visit http://www.glycotope.com/.

About Daiichi Sankyo Cancer Enterprise

The vision of Daiichi Sankyo Cancer Enterprise is to leverage our world-class, innovative science and push beyond traditional thinking in order to create meaningful treatments for patients with cancer. We are dedicated to transforming science into value for patients, and this sense of obligation informs everything we do. Anchored by our Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) and Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Franchises, our cancer pipeline includes more than 20 small molecules, monoclonal antibodies and ADCs stemming from our powerful research engines: our two laboratories for biologic/immuno-oncology and small molecules in Japan, and Plexxikon Inc., our small molecule structure-guided R&D center in Berkeley, CA. Compounds in development include: quizartinib, an oral FLT3 inhibitor, for newly-diagnosed and relapsed or refractory AML with FLT3-ITD mutations; DS-8201, an ADC for HER2-expressing breast and gastric cancer, and other HER2-expressing solid tumors; and pexidartinib, an oral CSF-1R inhibitor, for tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT), which is also being explored in a range of solid tumors in combination with the anti-PD1 immunotherapy pembrolizumab. For more information, please visit: www.DSCancerEnterprise.com.

About Daiichi Sankyo

Daiichi Sankyo Group is dedicated to the creation and supply of innovative pharmaceutical products to address diversified, unmet medical needs of patients in both mature and emerging markets. With over 100 years of scientific expertise and a presence in more than 20 countries, Daiichi Sankyo and its 15,000 employees around the world draw upon a rich legacy of innovation and a robust pipeline of promising new medicines to help people. In addition to a strong portfolio of medicines for hypertension and thrombotic disorders, under the Group's 2025 Vision to become a "Global Pharma Innovator with Competitive Advantage in Oncology," Daiichi Sankyo research and development is primarily focused on bringing forth novel therapies in oncology, including immuno-oncology, with additional focus on new horizon areas, such as pain management, neurodegenerative diseases, heart and kidney diseases, and other rare diseases. For more information, please visit: www.daiichisankyo.com.  Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, is a member of the Daiichi Sankyo Group. For more information on Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., please visit: www.dsi.com.

Contact

Daiichi Sankyo:
Jennifer Brennan
Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.
jbrennan2@dsi.com 
+1 908 992 6631 (office)
+1 201 709 9309 (mobile)

Glycotope:
Luisa Bruenig
Glycotope GmbH
luisa.bruenig@glycotope.com
+49 30 9489 2588 (office)
+49 176 19489845 (mobile)

References:

1. Fidler W, et al. Eur J Cancer. 2016; 63:55-63.

Related Links

http://www.daiichisankyo.com

SOURCE Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited