Dren Bio, a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing antibody therapeutics for cancer, autoimmune, and other serious diseases, has entered into a strategic collaboration with Novartis Pharma, a subsidiary of Novartis.
The collaboration will focus on the discovery and development of therapeutic bispecific antibodies for cancer using Dren Bio’s proprietary Targeted Myeloid Engager and Phagocytosis Platform.
“Our agreement with Dren Bio is a promising opportunity to discover novel bispecific antibody therapies for cancer, building on our longstanding expertise in immuno-oncology science at Novartis,” said Shiva Malek, Ph.D., Global Head of Oncology for Biomedical Research at Novartis. “We’re excited to collaborate to bring forward new therapeutic options for patients living with cancer, complementing our strategic efforts across a wide range of modalities, including targeted therapies, biologics, radioligand therapies and CAR-Ts.”
“We are thrilled to establish this new collaboration with Novartis, a global leader in oncology,” said Nenad Tomasevic, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Dren Bio. “Combining the proven capabilities of Novartis in oncology drug development with Dren Bio’s novel platform could enable the advancement of important new therapies for patients.”
Amit Mehta, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer and Chief Business Officer of Dren Bio, added: “Dren Bio’s Targeted Myeloid Engager and Phagocytosis Platform is designed to deplete various disease-causing agents and has led to a rich and diverse pipeline. This collaboration will benefit from Novartis’ impressive track record of developing novel medicines and help further expand the reach of our platform.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Dren Bio will receive a total upfront consideration of $150 million from Novartis, which includes a $25 million equity investment in the company. Dren Bio is also eligible to receive up to $2.85 billion in additional cash payments upon achieving certain preclinical, clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties on future net sales of any commercialized products resulting from the collaboration. Dren Bio and Novartis will collaborate to advance selected targeted myeloid engager programs in oncology through clinical candidate selection, at which point Novartis will assume full responsibility for all remaining development, manufacturing, regulatory, and commercialization activities.
The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory clearance.
