Almirall licenses bispecific platform in $210m EpimAb deal

EpimAb Biotherapeutics has out-licensed the rights for its Fabs-In-Tandem Immunoglobulin (FIT-Ig) platform technology to Barcelona’s Almirall, a dermatology company.

Almirall will gain global ownership of up to three bispecific antibodies it discovers and develops using the platform. EpimAb will receive as much as $210 million in milestones contingent upon launch and commercial success of the products, plus royalties.

FIT-Ig generates bispecific antibodies using only the basic structural parts of monoclonal antibodies. EpimAb has developed seven clinical-stage bispecific molecules from the platform.

DepositPhotos/maxkabakov

Further financial details were not disclosed.

“We are pleased to partner with Almirall to expand the application of our FIT-Ig technology beyond the oncology space,” said Chengbin Wu, CEO and founder of EpimAb.

“While we have made significant progress in utilizing our platform technology to develop a differentiated portfolio of bispecific antibodies in oncology, the potential of our platform in other areas such as immunology remains untapped. We believe Almirall is the partner of choice for this endeavor and look forward to exploring the use of our novel bispecific platform to offer additional treatment options for patients with immune-related disorders.”

Karl Ziegelbauer, EVP R&D and Chief Scientific Officer of Almirall, added: “This agreement with EpimAb is an important step forward and a great example of our ambition to develop new biologics in the dermatology field to ultimately bring innovation to patients.”

EpimAb Biotherapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of multispecific antibodies. Using its broad range of in-house research and technology capabilities, including the proprietary FIT-Ig and MAT-Fab (Monovalent Asymmetric Tandem Fab) bispecific platforms, EpimAb discovers and advances a pipeline of assets aimed at benefitting cancer patients.

In 2021, EpimAb raised $120 million in a Series C financing to fund clinical development of EMB-01, EMB-02 and EMB-06, and to expand the company’s pipeline of novel bispecific antibodies and other biologics. The company has seven bispecific candidates in clinical trials and eight more assets in preclinical development, including:

A version of this article was first published in ChinaBio Today on October 16, 2023