Danish biotech company Genmab has announced that it has entered an oncology research and development collaboration with Bolt Biotherapeutics.
The companies will evaluate Genmab’s antibodies and bispecific antibody engineering technologies alongside Bolt’s immune-stimulating antibody conjugate (ISAC) technology platform.
The overarching goal of the collaboration is to discover and develop the next generation of immune-stimulatory, antibody-based conjugate therapeutics for the treatment of cancer.
In a statement, the companies said they will evaluate multiple bispecific ISAC concepts to identify up to three clinical candidates for clinical development.
Genmab is set to fund the research, including the preclinical and clinical development of each candidate through clinical proof to concept.
“This exciting collaboration will provide a unique opportunity to combine Genmab’s innovative bispecific antibody technologies with Bolt’s powerful, advanced ISAC technology to develop targeted antibody products with the potential to transform cancer treatment,” said Jan van de Winkel, chief executive officer of Genmab.
The Danish biotech company will pay Bolt $10m upfront as part of the collaboration, and will also make a $15m equity investment in the company.
In addition, Bolt is eligible to receive total milestone payments of up to $285 per therapeutic candidate that is exclusively developed and commercialised by Genmab, as well as tiered royalties.
While Genmab will fully fund pre-clinical and early clinical development of all candidates, if a candidate is co-developed, the costs will be split equally between the two companies.
The companies will be solely responsible for the commercialisation costs in their respective, undisclosed territories, and will pay each other royalties on product sales.
“Our joint vision is to leverage Genmab’s and Bolt’s innovative technologies to develop a completely new type of ISAC with the aim to transform the way cancer is treated. Creating bispecific ISACs turbo-charged with potent immune stimulants is a novel concept that has tremendous potential for patients,” said Randall Schatzman, chief executive officer of Bolt
“We are delighted to be collaborating with the Genmab team and to have their deep expertise in discovering and developing bispecific antibodies brought to bear on this approach as we continue our mission to develop treatments that address key unmet needs for patients with cancer,” he added.