Sanofi and Seagen today announced an exclusive collaboration agreement to design, develop and commercialise antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for up to three cancer targets. The collaboration will utilise Sanofi’s proprietary monoclonal antibody (mAb) technology and Seagen’s proprietary ADC technology. ADCs are antibodies engineered to deliver potent anti-cancer drugs to tumour cells expressing a specific protein and Sanofi currently has one ADC in development, Sanofi notified in a statement.
The statement said that under the terms of the collaboration, Seagen and Sanofi will co-fund global development activities and share equally in any future profits. In addition, Sanofi will make an undisclosed payment to Seagen for each of the three targets as they are selected. The first target under the collaboration has already been designated.
John Reed, MD, PhD, Global Head, Research and Development, Sanofi, said in the statement, “This collaboration will enable the synergistic combination of molecules and platforms to produce candidate medicines with the potential of bringing renewed hope to cancer patients and their families……..”