Partner Shanghai Miracogen (fully owned by LEPU BIOPHARMA CO., LTD) commences US Phase I/II trial with ADC designed to treat solid tumors MRG004A selected for clinical development based on highly competitive efficacy and tolerability in preclinical studies compared to conventional ADC technology Over 10 ADCs currently being developed by Synaffix licensees
Amsterdam, Netherlands, September 29, 2021: Synaffix B.V., a biotechnology company focused on commercializing its clinical-stage platform technology for the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with best-in-class therapeutic index, today announces that its partner Shanghai Miracogen has commenced a Phase I trial in the US with MRG004A, an ADC designed to treat solid tumors. This is the 3rd ADC built with GlycoConnect™ ADC technology to enter the clinic.
Synaffix signed a licensing agreement with Shanghai Miracogen (now fully owned by LEPU BIOPHARMA CO., LTD), a Chinese biotechnology company with a clinical-stage pipeline of ADCs, in 2019. This major development has triggered a milestone payment to Synaffix.
MRG004A is an ADC targeting human Tissue Factor (TF), conjugated using GlycoConnect™ site specific conjugation technology. In preclinical studies, MRG004A exhibited significantly improved stability in circulation, enhanced efficacy and tolerability compared to the conventional ADC technology.
Mary Hu, CEO of Miracogen and Co-CEO of Lepu Biopharma said:
“We have been very pleased with our collaboration with Synaffix and the data that we generated with ADCs built with its outstanding ADC technology. MRG004A has demonstrated the potential to become a best-in-class TF-targeted ADC and to address high unmet medical need for patients.”
Peter van de Sande, CEO of Synaffix, said:
“This is an important milestone in our collaboration and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership as Miracogen develops multiple best-in-class ADC product candidates using our technology.
There are now 3 ADCs that were built with Synaffix’s ADC technology in clinical development. We have now announced 6 collaborations that we have established with biotech and pharma partners around the world and more than 10 ADCs are being developed under those license agreements. We look forward to announcing further progress and additional partnerships in the coming months.”
In the last few months, Synaffix has signed significant agreements with Kyowa Kirin, a global specialty pharmaceutical company; ProfoundBio, an emerging oncology biotherapeutics company; and Innovent Biologics, a leading biopharmaceutical company developing innovative medicines for the treatment of major diseases. These come in addition to preexisting collaborations with ADC Therapeutics, Mersana Therapeutics and Shanghai Miracogen.
