Vertex Pharmaceuticals has struck a deal with AbCellera to develop new types of T-cell engagers for autoimmune diseases and, potentially, other conditions too.
AbCellera will receive $28 million up front in the partnership announced Wednesday, and is eligible for more in the form of unspecified milestone payments and sales royalties. The Vancouver-based biotechnology company will lead discovery and early development, while Vertex will fund all research and development costs and have the right to commercialize any medicines emerging from the partnership.
The alliance adds to a growing streak of business development activity centered around multifaceted antibody drugs that engage immune cells as well as disease targets. Several of these T-cell engagers are approved for certain blood cancers and other malignancies. But their reach still remains somewhat limited, leading to a push to advance newer approaches that can address a wider range of conditions.
One increasingly popular area among developers is autoimmune disease research, where many emerging programs are designed to eradicate defective B cells. That approach is seen as a potential alternative to personalized cell therapies that have also shown promise, and has drawn considerable attention from larger drugmakers. UCB, for instance, paid $2.2 billion to acquire startup Candid Therapeutics in May. Merck & Co, Sanofi and Gilead have also cut notable deals.
For Vertex, the partnership provides another opportunity to branch out from a cystic fibrosis business that brings in over $10 billion in yearly sales. Vertex has become one of the industry’s most valuable companies thanks to its products that target the genetic disease, but has had a tougher time replicating that success elsewhere.
The company has shown an interest in autoimmune conditions, purchasing Alpine Immune Sciences two years ago for a drug that recently succeeded in late-stage testing. It also recently zeroed in on endocrine diseases via its biggest acquisition to date, a $10 billion buyout of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals.
