AbbVie partners on immunotherapy for cancer targeting CD39

US biopharma major AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) and Tizona Therapeutics, a privately-held immunotherapy company, have entered into a global, strategic collaboration to develop and commercialize CD39-targeted therapeutics, including TTX-030, a first-in-class antibody for the treatment of cancer.

The ATP-adenosine axis has recently emerged as a key immune regulatory switch in the tumor microenvironment (TME) by controlling the inflammatory and suppressive activities of immune cells. CD39 is the enzyme responsible for the initial steps in the conversion of immune stimulatory extracellular ATP to immune suppressive adenosine in the TME. Inhibition of CD39 with TTX-030 represents a novel and differentiated approach to targeting this pathway.

Terms include $105 million upfront to Tizona