US-based biotechnology company BigHat Biosciences has licensed the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology developed by Synaffix, a company of Switzerland-based Lonza.
Synaffix is a biotechnology company focused on commercialising its clinical-stage platform technology for the development of (ADCs) with advanced therapeutic index.
Its ADC platform leverages GlycoConnect, GlycoConnect High DAR Technology, HydraSpace, and toxSYN technologies.
Under the terms of the deal, BigHat will obtain access to Synaffix’s site-specific ADC technology platform, which helps transform antibodies into advanced ADC products.
It will also get access to Lonza’s end-to-end ADC offering, which provides the drug developers will all necessary cGMP/non-cGMP ADC batches.
BigHat Biosciences CEO Mark DePristo said: “BigHat is leveraging our AI-driven antibody design platform, Milliner, to develop advanced biologics that provide safer and more effective treatments for difficult-to-treat cancers.
“We are excited to combine Synaffix’s conjugation and linker-payload technologies with our custom-designed antibody to create a next-generation ADC for patients with high unmet medical need.”
The US-based company plans to combine Synaffix technology with its advanced ML antibody design platform, dubbed Milliner, to develop a new pipeline of ADC programmes.
The Milliner platform will integrate a synthetic biology-based high-speed wet lab with advanced ML technologies into a full-stack antibody discovery and engineering platform.
The approach is said to reduce the difficulty of designing antibodies and other therapeutic proteins, while advancing the candidate discovery and validation processes.
Through the collaboration with Synaffix, BigHat will be enabled to advance its next-gen ADC programme, which is on track to become its first clinical-stage programme.
Synaffix’s GlycoConnect, HydraSpace and toxSYN ADC technologies would further improve the safety and efficacy of Big Hat’s next-gen ADC.
Synaffix head Peter van de Sande said: “The ADC space continues to develop and evolve, and our collaboration with BigHat exemplifies the continued strength and appeal of our best-in-class ADC technology.
“We are excited to be at the forefront of next-generation ADC R&D by joining forces with BigHat and its AI/ML-enabled antibody discovery and development platform, BigHat is the ideal partner for Synaffix to collaborate with.
“We look forward to supporting BigHat with every step in the ADC development and manufacturing process under the Lonza umbrella.”
Earlier this year, Lonza agreed to acquire Genentech’s large-scale manufacturing site for biologics in Vacaville, California, US, from Roche for $1.2bn in cash.
