Myricx Bio, a UK biotech company focusing on the discovery and development of a completely novel class of selective cytotoxic payloads for antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), has announced an antibody license agreement with Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals, a global biotech company focusing on the discovery of novel antibody therapeutics.
The agreement will enable Myricx to develop and commercialise ADCs based on an antibody developed using Biocytogen’s proprietary RenMice platform and will expand Myricx’s ADC pipeline of proprietary monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against important cancer targets to which it conjugates its first-in-class selective cytotoxic payloads based on potent inhibitors of N-MyristoylTransferase (NMT), a completely novel concept in the ADC space.
NMT is an enzyme that adds a specific lipid modification to a number of protein targets key to cancer cell survival. Myricx is developing a pipeline of ADCs to address serious unmet needs in oncology based on its NMT inhibitor (NMTi) payload chemistry platform and has demonstrated excellent preclinical efficacy and safety across multiple solid tumour associated antigens and cancer cell types.
Myricx is a leading expert in NMTi payloads, and we believe that the combination of both company’s strengths will result in ADC drugs
- Dr Yuelei Shen, President and CEO of Biocytogen
Under the terms of the agreement, Myricx will provide its proprietary linker and NMTi payload and Biocytogen will conjugate them with its RenMice®-derived fully human antibody to make ADCs. Biocytogen will carry out feasibility tests for these ADCs as CRO services, and upon option exercise, Myricx will be responsible for further development and commercialisation.
Biocytogen will receive an upfront payment and, subject to exercise, Biocytogen will be eligible to receive development and commercialisation milestone payments, as well as single-digit royalties on net sales.
Myricx CEO Dr Robin Carr said: “We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Biocytogen with ground-breaking technology to develop novel antibodies for use in drug development. We believe that the combination of its antibody with our novel NMTi-based selective cytotoxic payloads will enable us to develop best-in-class ADCs to meet significant clinical needs in oncology."
Carr continued: "NMT inhibitors represent a novel class of ADC payloads that can be exploited as targeted therapies in cancer. Based on our positive proof of concept data we believe that ADC-NMTi offer huge potential for selective cancer cell killing via its unique mechanism of action.”
"Thanks to Myricx’ recognition of our antibody assets, preclinical discovery expertise and CMC capabilities,” said Dr Yuelei Shen, President and CEO of Biocytogen. “Myricx is a leading expert in NMTi payloads, and we believe that the combination of both company’s strengths will result in ADC drugs with first-in-class and best-in-class potentials.”
Myricx is a spin out from two of the UK’s leading biomedical research organisations, Imperial College, London and the Francis Crick Institute founded to develop drugs based on the breakthrough discoveries and the unique insights into NMT biology made by its founders Professors Ed Tate and Roberto Solari, with seed financing from Sofinnova Partners and Brandon Capital.
