Boston-based Radiance Biopharma is doling out $15 million in cash and offering more than $1 billion in milestones for licensing rights to a bispecific antibody-drug conjugate from a Chinese drug developer.
The deal centers around Novatim Immune Therapeutics’ KY-0301, which the company touts as the first bispecific nano ADC, according to an Aug. 29 release (Chinese).
When compared to traditional bispecific ADCs, Novatim’s asset is supposed to more effectively penetrate tumor tissue, improve antitumor activity and provide a superior safety profile. The companies believe KY-0301 holds potential in non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and other cancers.
Beyond the upfront $15 million, Novatim could receive up to $150 million in R&D and regulatory milestone payments and up to $1 billion in commercial milestones, plus royalties.
In exchange, Radiance has received overseas exclusive rights to the clinical-stage asset, which it has recoded as RB-601.
The Boston startup will now focus on enrolling cancer patients in a global, multicenter clinical trial for the asset, Radiance co-founder and chair Marc Lippman, M.D., said in the release. Lippman is a renowned oncologist and founding board member of ADC specialist Seagen, which was acquired by Pfizer for $43 billion in 2023.
KY-0301 received FDA approval for in-human trials back in 2024 and is undergoing a phase 1 dose escalation study in China, according to the release.
Currently, Radiance has one other asset headed toward the clinic—a ROR-1 targeted ADC that the U.S. biotech bought rights to from China’s CSPC Megalith Biopharmaceutical in February.
The candidate gives Radiance a spot in the ROR1 race, which Merck & Co. has set the pace for. At the end of last year, the pharma reported a 100% complete response rate in a midstage trial, prompting the company to launch its ROR1-directed ADC into phase 3 testing.
Radiance has a lot of ground to cover in efforts to top Merck, with the biotech’s partner Megalith dosing its first patient in a China trial in April. The biotech plans to launch a phase 1 portion of an open-label study in the U.S., Australia and Europe for patients with blood cancers.
As for Novatim, the Chinese company struck a separate deal with U.S.-based Erigen at the end of July, giving the biotech certain rights to a BCMA/CD19 dual-target CAR-T cell therapy.
In exchange, Erigen paid Novatim $15 million in near-term development milestones while putting up to $1.3 billion on the table in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments.