Novartis buys into Dren’s bispecifics

Beyond the entrenched leaders in oncology modalities – think Johnson & Johnson and Roche in T-cell engagers, AstraZeneca and Merck & Co in ADCs, Novartis in radioligands – subtle shifts are taking place. A day after AstraZeneca signalled its interest in protein degradation, Novartis bought into bispecific MAbs. Both deal partners are private US biotechs – in Novartis’s case Dren Bio. The latest deal represents a significant windfall for Dren, which closed a $65m series B round in mid-2022, and which now receives $125m up front from Novartis plus a $25m equity purchase. Little is known about the specific nature of the tie-up, which will focus on the development of bispecific MAbs that engage myeloid cells. This appears to be related to an existing Dren pipeline project coded DR-0202, which has an undisclosed target but is said to harness myeloid cells to bring about solid cancer cell depletion. Separately, Dren’s lead, DR-01, is in a phase 1/2 study in large granular lymphocytic leukaemia or cytotoxic lymphomas; Dren says DR-01 depletes terminally differentiated cytotoxic cells such as autoreactive CD8+ T cells, and the secret sauce is the MAb’s target, CD94, which is found on healthy NK and terminally differentiated CD8+ T cells.

Dren Bio’s pipeline

Source: OncologyPipeline.