Takeda Pharmaceuticals has inked a deal for exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) using a panel of selected Innate Pharma antibodies against an undisclosed target, with a primary focus in Celiac disease.
Under the terms of the deal, France-based Innate will receive $5 million upfront and is eligible to receive up to $410 million in future development, regulatory and commercial milestones, plus royalties on potential net sales of any commercial product resulting from the license.
Japan-based Takeda already has three pipeline candidates for celiac disease in phase 2 trials — TAK-101, TAK-227 and TAK-062. TAK-101, licensed from COUR Pharma in 2019, is an immune-modifying nanoparticle that contains gliadin proteins designed to promote immune tolerance to gluten by preventing gliadin-specific T-cell activation. TAK-227, born from a 2022 collaboration with Zedira and Dr. Falk Pharma, is a selective, oral small molecule designed to inhibit tissue transglutaminase. TAK-062, picked up in the 2020 acquisition of PvP Biologics, is an enzyme designed to break down gluten proteins in the stomach.
While applying ADC modalities to celiac disease is relatively new territory, ADC deals in the oncology field have been exploding. BioNTech just inked a deal with China-based biotech DualityBio to co-develop and commercialize two cancer ADC candidates. A few weeks ago, Pfizer revealed a $43 billion deal to acquire the ADC technology pioneer, Seagen. The following day, Synaffix and MacroGenics announced that they had expanded their next-gen ADCs partnership. Last month, AstraZeneca signed a potential $1.1 billion deal with China-based KYM Biosciences for a potential first-in-class ADC targeting Claudin 18.2
