Synaffix B.V. and Emergence Therapeutics AG have entered into a licensing agreement of up to $360 million, providing Emergence access on a target-specific basis to Synaffix’s proprietary antibody drug conjugate (ADC) technologies including GlycoConnect, HydraSpace and SYNtecan E linker-payload.
 
Under the terms of the agreement, Synaffix will be eligible to receive up to $360 million in upfront and milestone payments plus royalties on commercial sales. The first program will commence at signature, with the option to expand the collaboration to additional targets. The agreement is the result of positive proof of concept data following a successful initial discovery research collaboration between the companies. 
 
Emergence will be responsible for the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of the ADCs. Synaffix will be responsible for the manufacturing of components that are specifically related to its proprietary technologies.
 
Jack Elands, chief executive officer of Emergence Therapeutics, commented: “This transaction demonstrates our commitment to the development of our pipeline of first-in-class and/or best-in-class ADCs. Beyond our lead program ETx-22, a next generation Nectin-4 ADC, we are actively advancing further programs to develop treatments for high unmet-need cancers. We are impressed with the Synaffix technology and are pleased to select it as a key component to accelerate our pipeline of ADCs.”
 
Peter van de Sande, chief executive officer of Synaffix, said: “This marks an important milestone for Synaffix as this is the 10th ADC developer who has licensed our innovative ADC technology to develop proprietary ADCs for their own pipeline. By consolidating all essential technologies within Synaffix, we have repeatedly enabled the development of best-in-class and first-in-class ADCs under a single technology license agreement. We are thrilled that Emergence has selected Synaffix as its long-term ADC technology partner and look forward to working closely with Emergence as they build out their portfolio of  ADC candidates.”