Novartis adds bispecific antibodies to its growing immuno-oncology portfolio through collaboration and licensing agreement with Xencor

Novartis International AG / Novartis adds bispecific antibodies to its growing immuno-oncology portfolio through collaboration and licensing agreement with Xencor . Processed and transmitted by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

• Agreement is the latest in a series of acquisitions and strategic collaborations that have bolstered Novartis' deep and diverse immuno-oncology pipeline
   

Collaboration will co-develop Xencor's two T-cell engaging bispecific antibodies targeting acute myeloid leukemia and B-cell malignancies
 

Novartis receives rights to develop four additional programs and the right to use Xencor's antibody engineering platform to develop up to ten additional antibodies for immuno-oncology and other diseases

             
Basel, June 28, 2016 - Today Novartis announced that it has entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement with Xencor for the development of bispecific antibodies for treating cancer. The agreement is the latest in a series of acquisitions and strategic collaborations between Novartis and biotech companies that have helped bolster its deep and diverse immuno-oncology pipeline.

Traditional monoclonal antibodies target and bind to a single antigen. Bispecific antibodies are engineered to recognize and target two different antigens, which makes them potentially more effective in targeting complex diseases. A T-cell engaging bispecific antibody is able to bind an antigen on a tumor cell with one arm and engage T-cells capable of their destruction with the other.   

Novartis receives the right to develop four additional bispecific antibodies and to use other Xencor proprietary antibody engineering technology for up to ten additional biotherapeutic programs across the Novartis R&D portfolio.  In addition, The companies will collaborate to co-develop Xencor's two bispecific T-cell engaging antibodies targeting CD3xCD123 and CD3xCD20 for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and B-cell malignancies.

"This collaboration is part of our strategy to join forces with technology innovators who can help us rapidly advance new medicines to the clinic, " said Jay Bradner, President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. "We look forward to working with the Xencor team to advance these programs in immuno-oncology and to using their antibody engineering platform to develop biotherapeutics for additional diseases."