Apogenix, CANbridge licensing deal to develop and commercialise immuno-oncology drug

Apogenix, a next generation immuno-oncology company, has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with CANbridge Life Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing Western drug candidates in China and North Asia, for the development and commercialisation of lead immuno-oncology drug candidate APG101 in China, Macao, and Hong Kong.

Under the terms of the agreement, Apogenix will receive upfront and milestone payments, as well as royalty payments at tiered, double-digit royalty rates following commercial launch of APG101 in China.

APG101 is a CD95 ligand inhibitor which restores the immune response against tumours and inhibits invasive tumour cell growth. The drug candidate is being developed for the treatment of solid tumours and malignant hematological diseases. In a controlled phase II proof-of-concept trial in patients with recurrent glioblastoma, treatment with APG101 in combination with radiotherapy has demonstrated clinical superiority in all study endpoints compared to treatment with radiotherapy alone.

“The licensing agreement with CANbridge represents an important milestone in our goal to develop and commercialise our immuno-oncology compound APG101 as a new therapy for difficult-to-treat tumour indications on an international level,” said Thomas Hoeger, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Apogenix.