ADC Therapeutics and BZL Biologics sign antibody agreement

Swiss ADC Therapeutics, a portfolio company of Auven Therapeutics, and USA-based BZL Biologics today announced an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement for an antibody against PSMA-positive prostate cancers. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

ADC Therapeutics, an oncology drug development company specializing in proprietary antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), plans to initiate pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) development of a PSMA-specific ADC immediately, adding to ADC Therapeutics’ portfolio of proprietary ADC programs. Its unique platform combines monoclonal antibodies specific to particular types of tumor cells, in this case PSMA, with a novel class of highly potent pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD)-based warheads.

The company said that as ADC Therapeutics PBD-based chemistries do not distort the structure of the DNA it gives the prospect of highly potent, target-selective cancer therapies with fewer side effects and the potential to pre-empt resistance issues faced by other anti-cancer products on the market.