The agreement with XOMA Royalty, a biotechnology royalty aggregator, involves the sale of BioInvent’s future royalty and milestone interests in mezagitamab, a fully human IgG1 monoclonal antibody targeting CD38, currently in a phase III clinical trial for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) led by Takeda. Under the terms of the deal, BioInvent received $20 million at closing, with an additional $10 million contingent upon mezagitamab achieving a specific regulatory milestone related to U.S. FDA approval for IgA nephropathy. For BioInvent, mezagitamab represents a non-core asset, allowing the company to prioritise its proprietary oncology pipeline.
Generating value through partnerships
– This transaction further builds the potential of XOMA Royalty’s late-stage royalty portfolio by increasing our economics in a promising phase III program already in our portfolio, stated Brad Sitko, Chief Investment Officer of XOMA Royalty.
– We appreciate the longstanding relationship with BioInvent stemming from XOMA’s legacy technology, which gave rise to mezagitamab. We are pleased to provide BioInvent non-dilutive capital to further advance its proprietary pipeline to a key inflection point, he continued.
The transaction underscores BioInvent’s ability to leverage its n-CoDeR antibody platform to generate value through strategic partnerships. The platform, which has produced multiple therapeutic antibody candidates now in mid-to late-stage clinical trials, remains a cornerstone of BioInvent’s drug discovery efforts.
Origins of the Mezagitamab collaboration
The roots of this deal trace back to a 2003 cross-licensing agreement between BioInvent and XOMA Royalty, which combined XOMA’s bacterial protein expression technology with BioInvent’s n-CoDeR antibody library. This collaboration led to the development of mezagitamab, which has shown promise as a potential best-in-class anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody due to its high affinity for CD38-expressing cells, including plasmablasts, plasma cells, and natural killer cells.
Martin Welschof, CEO of BioInvent, emphasised the significance of the transaction and that it highlights the value of BioInvent’s n-CoDeR platform, adding:
– As well as reflecting XOMA Royalty’s expanded interest in mezagitamab, this transaction supports our strategy of creating value via partnerships and gives us a non-dilutive capital injection that bolsters our balance sheet so that we can continue to focus on advancing our own clinical drug development programs.
The transaction provides BioInvent with immediate financial flexibility that will support the advancement of BioInvent’s pipeline, including BI-1808 and BI-1206, both of which are in Phase II clinical development.
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