Adagene inks licensing deal with Third Arc Bio

Sino-American antibody company Adagene (Nasdaq: ADAG) and Third Arc Bio today announced a licensing agreement under which Third Arc Bio will utilize Adagene’s SAFEbody technology platform to generate masked CD3 T cell engagers against unique tumor associated antigens. Adagene’s shares edged up 2.3% to $1.81 on the news.

Under the terms of the agreement, Third Arc Bio will receive rights to research, develop and commercialize two candidate molecules worldwide. Adagene will receive an upfront payment of $5 million and is eligible to receive development and commercial-based milestones of up to $840 million (if all milestones and conditions are achieved) as well as royalties on end-user sales. In addition, Adagene has a no-cost option to develop and commercialize these candidate molecules in Greater China, Singapore and South Korea.

Peter Luo, chief executive of Adagene, said: “Our SAFEbody technology allows activation of an antibody when it reaches the tumor microenvironment. The resulting wider therapeutic index from improved safety allows for higher dosing and potentially better efficacy, as seen from the data we continue to generate with muzastotug. We’re thrilled that Third Arc Bio will be utilizing our SAFEbody technology for a portion of their exciting pipeline programs.”