2024-7-22
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On July 16th., Vertex Pharmaceuticals reached a collaboration agreement with Orum Therapeutics, with a total value potentially exceeding $945 million, to co-develop DAC assets. Vertex will make an upfront payment of $15 million to Orum and provide milestone payments of up to $310 million per project for three projects.
Orum’s “Dual Precision Targeted Protein Degradation” (TPD²) technology will play a crucial role in this collaboration. This technology combines the targeting precision of antibodies with the potency of small molecule protein degraders to develop DACs. DACs combine the advantages of antibody drugs and protein degraders. Through antibody-mediated targeted delivery, DACs can significantly increase the potency of protein degraders, making them more effective in killing target cells. The degraders in DACs are inactive before being internalized by target cells, significantly reducing toxicity and side effects on non-target cells. Additionally, conjugating the degrader to an antibody can extend its half-life and increase drug exposure time, thus improving therapeutic efficacy.
In this collaboration, Vertex will be responsible for all research, development, and commercialization activities. The DACs developed will be used as conditioning agents, potentially replacing chemotherapy currently used to patients prepared for gene therapy.
In recent years, many biopharmaceutical companies have also been actively exploring and investing in DAC technology. For example, Bristol-Myers Squibb partnered with Orum last year to develop ORM-6151, a DAC used to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). ORM-6151 combines an anti-CD33 antibody with a GSPT1 degrader, achieving efficient cancer cell killing through a dual-targeting mechanism.
Peter Zhang
Partner, YAFO Capital
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7月16日，Vertex制药公司与Orum Therapeutics达成了一项总价值可能超过9.45亿美元的DAC资产联合开发交易。Vertex将向Orum支付1500万美元的预付款以及三个项目、每个项目最高可达3.1亿美元的里程碑付款。
Orum的“双精度靶向蛋白质降解”（TPD²）技术将在此次合作中发挥核心作用。这项技术通过将抗体的靶向精度与小分子蛋白质降解剂的效力结合，开发针对癌细胞和其他特定治疗的DACs。DAC结合了抗体药物和蛋白质降解剂的双重优势。通过抗体介导的靶向递送，DACs能够提高蛋白质降解剂效力，从而更有效地杀死目标细胞。DACs中的降解剂在被目标细胞内化之前是非活性的，这显著降低了对非目标细胞的毒性和副作用；同时，降解剂与抗体偶联可以延长其半衰期，增加药物暴露时间，从而提高治疗效果。
在此次合作中，Vertex将负责所有的研究、开发和商业化活动。开发出的DACs将用于预处理剂，可能取代目前用于准备基因治疗患者的化疗。
近年来，多家生物制药公司也在积极探索和投资DAC技术。例如， Bristol-Myers Squibb就在去年与Orum就其ORM-6151，一种用于治疗急性髓性白血病（AML）和高危骨髓增生异常综合症（MDS）的DAC开展合作。ORM-6151结合了抗CD33抗体和GSPT1降解剂，通过双重靶向机制实现对癌细胞的高效杀伤。
Peter Zhang
Partner, YAFO Capital
1. Summary of the week
7月12日到19日，全球共签署了13项资产授权与合作交易。中国医药市场交易活跃，共达成8项交易，包括5项出海交易、1项引进交易和2项国内交易。其中值得关注的交易是辐联科技向韩国SK Biopharma授权一临床前资产，总价值5.715亿美元；以及澳宗生物与华东医药就III期资产TTYP01达成交易，总价值1.816亿美元。
国际市场上，共签署了5项资产授权和合作交易。本周的亮点是Orum Therapeutics与Vertex Pharmaceuticals就前者的双精度靶向蛋白降解（TPD²）技术平台达成的授权和选择权协议，预付款1500万美元，总价值9.45亿美元。
From July 12 to 19, a total of 13 licensing deals were signed globally, marking a fruitful week for the China Biotech Industry. Of these, 8 licensing and cooperation agreements were sealed within China. The deals included 5 out-licensing agreements, 1 in-licensing deal, and 2 domestic agreements. The notable deals are Full-Life Technologies and SK Biopharma entered into an out-licensing agreement worth $571.5 million for a pre-clinical stage asset and Auzone Biological and Huadong Medicine agreed to a $181.6 million deal for the Phase III asset, TTYP01.
Globally, a total of 5 licensing and cooperation deals were signed. The highlight of the week was the licensing and option deal between Orum Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals for a dual-precision targeted protein degradation (TPD²) platform, with an upfront payment of $15 million totaling $945 million.
2. Licensing Deals
2a. China section
2b. Global section
3. M&A Deals
4. Top Deals of the year 2024
5. 2019-2023 China Innovative Drug Licensing Transactions
ABOUT YAFO CAPITAL
雅法资本成立于2013年，作为新型投资和投行咨询机构，致力于中国及海外生物医药项目的投融资、资产跨境交易和资产孵化等。旗下雅法基金联合药企进行资产投资和并购，雅法全球医疗专注于医药产品跨境及国内授权交易。基于雅法在全球广泛的人脉与资源网络，在过去十年成功推进了大量的海外项目进入中国市场并协助多个中国产品完成海外授权。雅法拥有经验丰富的全球交易团队，覆盖美国、日本 、欧洲等全球主要医药创新区域。核心合伙人均为华尔街资深投行人士或具有跨国药企经历，为客户交易提供强力支持。雅法总部位于上海，在美国、欧洲、东南亚等地均设有分部。雅法在生物医药跨境授权及并购业务交易数量连续多年排名第一。
Founded in 2013, YAFO Capital is a Shanghai based boutique investment and advisory firm, with professional team in our China, U.S., EU and SEA offices. Partnering with Pharmaceutical companies, YAFO Fund mainly invests in global assets. YAFO Life Sciences is a leading advisory boutique focused on asset transactions. YAFO has built a strong proven track record and closed dozens of in-licensing and out-licensing transactions with global pharma and biotech companies. Over the past five years, YAFO has been ranked as the No. 1 advisor for China cross border licensing transactions. For more information, please visit http://www.yafocapital.com
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