Lonza and Engitix signed a licensing agreement to advance the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) as therapies for patients with chronic diseases.

Engitix will access Lonza’s ADC technology platform through a single-target license, including the use of SYNtecan E linker-payload and complementary GlycoConnect^® and HydraSpace^®. These technologies are intended to support Engitix’s goal to develop and commercialize therapies.

Lonza, through one of its affiliated companies, is eligible to receive upfront, clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, plus royalties on net sales of resulting products. Lonza is responsible for manufacturing components that are related to its proprietary technologies, and Engitix will work on the R&D, manufacturing, and commercialization of the ADCs.

Engitix has developed a proprietary human extracellular matrix (ECM) platform that allows the study of disease biology directly in human tissue, according to a company official, who adds that this approach focuses on targets within the ECM itself, offering a differentiated pathway compared to traditional methods that focus on cell surface targets. 

The collaboration enables Engitix to leverage Lonza’s established ADC technology platform to develop differentiated therapeutic candidates designed to selectively deliver potent payloads to tumor-selective targets identified through Engitix’s proprietary human ECM discovery platform, explains Giuseppe Mazza, MD, PhD, CEO and co-founder of Engitix.

‘We are committed to translating our unique understanding of the disease microenvironment into transformative therapies for patients with high unmet medical need,” he continues. “Licensing Lonza’s clinically validated conjugation and linker-payload technologies provides us with a powerful toolkit to develop next-generation ECM-targeted therapeutics with the potential for enhanced efficacy, reduced toxicity and improved therapeutic index.” 

“We are pleased to collaborate with Engitix on this innovative program,” says Jan Vertommen, vice president of commercial development, advanced synthesis, Lonza. “By combining our ADC development and  manufacturing expertise with Engitix’s unique ECM-based discovery platform, we aim to advance next-generation ADCs and unlock new possibilities in targeted therapies for patients.” 

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