Seattle Genetics In-licenses Anti-CD33 Antibody Program From Protein Design Labs
"This program provides an immediate addition to our preclinical product pipeline and a near-term clinical development opportunity," stated Clay B. Siegall, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Seattle Genetics. "CD33 is a validated target for cancer therapy, and we intend to explore the therapeutic potential of both naked antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates utilizing our second generation ADC technology. We believe that the stable linkers and potent, cytotoxic drugs utilized in our ADC technology may be able to overcome two of the major obstacles to anti-CD33 ADC development: non-targeted toxicity and multidrug resistance (MDR)."
Under the license agreement, Seattle Genetics receives exclusive rights to PDL's anti-CD33 program and associated U.S. patents and patent applications, as well as supplies of clinical grade material and a non-exclusive CD33 license under PDL's antibody humanization patents. PDL will receive an upfront fee, progress-dependent milestone payments and royalties on net sales of any resulting commercial products. In addition, Seattle Genetics has agreed to reduce the royalties payable by PDL with respect to a limited number of products that PDL may develop under the existing ADC collaboration between the two companies. The companies have also granted each other a co-development option for second generation anti-CD33 antibodies with improved therapeutic characteristics developed by either party. Further financial terms were not disclosed.
The CD33 antigen is expressed on a number of hematologic malignancies, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), myelodysplastic syndrome and several myeloproliferative disorders. Because of its limited expression on normal cells, both unconjugated antibodies with effector function and ADCs have therapeutic potential in these diseases.