Cullinan Oncology has entered into an exclusive license with Harbour BioMed for the development and commercial rights of HBM7008 (CLN-418) in the U.S.
CLN-418/HBM7008 is a B7H4 x 4-1BB bispecific immune activator developed from next-gen heavy chain only antibody (HCAb)-based multi-specific antibody discovery platform HBICE, currently in a Phase 1 clinical study being conducted at U.S. and Australian sites in patients with advanced solid tumors.
Nadim Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of Cullinan Oncology, said: “We are pleased to bring CLN-418, a potential first-in-class, clinical-stage bispecific immune activator, into our diversified portfolio. We believe the best approach to conditional activation of 4-1BB is by targeting B7H4, a tumor associated antigen that is highly expressed across multiple cancers and minimally overlaps with PD-L1 expression.
“CLN-418 is a strong strategic fit for Cullinan, building on our expertise with bispecifics, and placing us at the forefront of bispecific antibody development in solid tumors. Importantly, this transaction adds another clinical-stage asset to our portfolio, and with it, we are on track to have potentially six clinical stage assets in our pipeline by the end of 2023.
“This transaction is consistent with our goal to strategically deploy capital to expand and advance our pipeline, and the financial terms of the agreement allow us to maintain a multi-year cash runway to fund our ongoing development efforts and deliver data from multiple clinical programs. Harbour BioMed is a global clinical-stage biotech company with experienced therapeutic innovation capabilities and a network of partnerships, and we look forward to realizing the full potential of this exciting program.”
Under the agreement, Cullinan Oncology will pay Harbour BioMed an upfront license fee of $25m at closing for the exclusive right to develop and commercialize CLN-418/HBM7008 in the U.S. Harbour BioMed will be eligible to receive up to $148m in development and regulatory milestones plus up to an additional $415m in sales-based milestones as well as tiered royalties up to high teens on potential U.S. commercial sales.
Dr. Jingsong Wang, founder, chairman and CEO of Harbour BioMed, said: “This agreement is another validation from a leading global biotech company on our technology platforms and innovation capabilities.
“We believe that Cullinan Oncology is the ideal partner to continue the development of CLN-418/HBM7008, which we believe has first-in-class potential to treat a wide range of solid-tumor cancers. They have a seasoned clinical development team, strong capabilities in oncology drug development, and the robust infrastructure necessary to move it forward.
“We look forward to working with Nadim and his team to advance this program forward.”
