CytomX, ImmunoGen partner for Probody-drug conjugates
CytomX Therapeutics Inc. (South San Francisco, Calif.) and ImmunoGen Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGN) partnered to share their respective technology to develop and commercialize Probody-drug conjugates (PDCs) for undisclosed cancer indications. Probodies are designed to be activated in the tumor microenvironment and not in healthy tissue. Under the deal, each company will be responsible for developing PDCs against targets they select using CytomX's Probody technology and ImmunoGen's ADC cell-killing agents and engineered linkers. Each company will be responsible for preclinical and clinical development and commercialization of PDCs against the targets they select. Each company is also eligible for undisclosed milestones and royalties for PDCs developed by the other company.
Probodies are composed of an antibody, a peptide "mask" that blocks the antibody's active site and an endogenous protease substrate that links the two and is cleaved in the presence of the appropriate protease to reveal an active antibody (see BioCentury, May 2, 2011). ...