Elevation brings Synaffix on board in HER3
But the group is going up against the likes of Merck/Daiichi, Bristol Myers Squibb and BioNTech.
But the group is going up against the likes of Merck/Daiichi, Bristol Myers Squibb and BioNTech.
Elevation Oncology, in the dolrums since disappointing with its lead Claudin18.2-targeting ADC, has a new focus for investors: an anti-HER3 ADC now known as EO-1022. The asset was unveiled on Thursday in conjunction with a deal with the Lonza subsidiary Synaffix.
Elevation has been working on HER3 ADCs for some time, but the agreement allows it to access Synaffix’s ADC technology, exclusively for development against this target. The up-front fee wasn’t disclosed, but the deal could be worth up to $368m.
EO-1022 uses a monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) payload, and incorporates Elevation’s HER3-targeting antibody seribantumab; this was once a rival to Merus’s Bizengri (zenocutuzumab) in NRG1 fusion tumours, but Elevation deprioritised the naked MAb version in 2023.
Elevation plans to present preclinical data with EO-1022 in the first half of next year, and file an IND application in 2026.
Stiff competition
This timeline puts Elevation well behind the competition. Merck & Co/Daiichi Sankyo’s patritumab deruxtecan, part of an October 2023 mega-deal, could become the first HER3 ADC to get approved, despite getting a CRL in June over manufacturing issues.
Bristol Myers Squibb, meanwhile, is developing an EGFR x HER3 bispecific ADC, izalontamab brengitecan, via an $800m agreement with SystImmune.
And BioNTech is back on track with its MediLink-originated HER3 ADC BNT326, following a clinical hold earlier this year. China’s DualityBio, which has deals with several big players, also has an unpartnered project.
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