Eucure and Syncromune Establish Technology Transfer Agreement for YH002 (OX40 Antibody) and Multiple Other Clinical-Stage Antibodies
BEIJING, China, August 30, 2023 – Eucure (Beijing) Biopharma Co., Ltd. (“Eucure”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (“Biocytogen”), announced today that the company has entered into a technology transfer agreement with Syncromune, Inc. (“Syncromune”), a US-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of SYNC-T™, a platform technology designed to synchronize in situ neoantigen T cell education and immunostimulation, for the development and clinical supply of certain compounds.
This agreement is an expansion to the license agreement executed in 2022 where Biocytogen/Eucure licensed worldwide rights for YH002 (anti-OX40 antibody) and other active ingredients to Syncromune for the exclusive development and commercialization of intratumoral immunotherapy based on SYNC-T™ technology. Under the newly signed agreement, Syncromune will be granted an option right and upon option-exercise, Eucure will transfer technology to Syncromune for the manufacture of YH002 and other clinical-stage antibodies currently being evaluated for intratumoral immunotherapy based on SYNC-T™ technology. Under the newly signed agreement, Syncromune will pay Eucure an upfront fee and, upon option-exercise, Eucure is entitled to receive milestone fees.
Currently, Syncromune’s SYNC-T investigational therapy is being used in Phase 1 investigator initiated trials and has produced preliminary clinical data supporting further development of the candidates.
“We are pleased to expand what has been a fruitful collaboration, to date, with Syncromune,” said Yuelei Shen, Ph.D., President and CEO of Biocytogen. “As we continue identifying novel therapeutic antibodies suitable for development into tumor vaccine and other modalities, we look forward to establishing more strategic partnerships to advance the field of immunotherapy.”
“We are excited that SYNC-T has shown initial anti-tumor activity based on the preliminary Phase 1 clinical data,” said Eamonn Hobbs, President and Chief Executive Officer of Syncromune. “We believe this technology transfer agreement may help accelerate our FDA IND filling process, and we are optimistic that our proprietary SYNC-T investigational therapy may have the potential to provide a treatment benefit to cancer patients.”
About YH002
YH002 is a recombinant anti-OX40 humanized IgG1 agonistic antibody. The specificity, safety, and anti-cancer efficacy of YH002 have been evaluated in a comprehensive panel of pre-clinical studies. A first-in-human (FIH), multicenter, open-label, Phase 1 dose-escalation study is currently underway in Australia to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics and determine the MTD/RP2D of YH002 in adult subjects with advanced solid malignancies.
About SYNC-T™
Syncromune® is developing SYNC-T™, a disruptive personalized in situ platform drug immunotherapy designed to educate T cells and stimulate the immune system to treat metastatic solid tumors where other therapies have failed. SYNC-T utilizes a combination approach of tumor activation and targeted delivery, aiming to synchronize the timing and location of tumor antigen release with the functional activation of immune cells. To achieve tumor activation, a portion of a target tumor is lysed to generate immunogenic cell death and the release of Damage Associated Molecular Patterns (DAMPs) and tumor antigens, changing the tumor microenvironment by creating an in situ vaccine. The second component of the platform, targeted delivery, involves the intratumoral infusion of a proprietary fixed-dose combination drug with 4 active ingredients into the lysed portion of the tumor. This is designed to activate the immune system and combat immune suppression, which may result in patient-specific T cell education. The expansion of anti-cancer specific T cells can enable the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer in the treated tumor as well as in metastases throughout the body.
About Eucure
As a wholly owned subsidiary of Biocytogen, Eucure Biopharma undertakes the mission of clinical development for Biocytogen’s R&D pipelines. Relying on a strong clinical development team and extensive clinical development experience, Eucure Biopharma focuses on antibody drug therapy for oncology and other indications. The company has established a product pipeline for more than 10 targets, with 1 asset in Phase 2 MRCTs, 3 assets in Phase 1 clinical trials and 1 asset having received IND approvals. For more information, please visit www.eucure.com.
About Biocytogen
Biocytogen (HKEX: 02315) is a global biotechnology company that drives the research and development of novel antibody-based drugs with innovative technologies. Using its proprietary RenMabTM/RenLite®/RenNano® mice platforms for fully human monoclonal, bispecific/multispecific antibody and nanobody development, Biocytogen has integrated its in vivo drug efficacy screening platforms and strong clinical development expertise to streamline the entire drug development process. Biocytogen is undertaking a large-scale project to develop first-in-class and/or best-in-class antibody drugs for more than 1000 targets, known as Project Integrum (RenMiceTM HiTS Platform). As of June 30, 2023, 50 therapeutic antibody co-development/out-licensing/transfer agreements and 42 target-nominated RenMiceTM licensing projects have been established worldwide, including several partnerships with multinational pharmaceutical companies (MNCs). Biocytogen’s pipeline is comprised of 10 core assets, with partnerships established for multiple clinical assets. Headquartered in Beijing, Biocytogen has branches in China (Haimen Jiangsu, Shanghai), USA (Boston, San Francisco), and Germany (Heidelberg). For more information, please visit http://en.biocytogen.com.cn.
About Syncromune
Syncromune is a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of an in situ platform drug technology optimized for solid tumor cancers that aims to achieve the CAR T like efficacy demonstrated in liquid tumors. The company is currently developing SYNC-T™, a novel platform technology that uses a drug/device combination approach. The platform is designed to achieve personalized T cell education and to enable the immune system to recognize and attack cancer throughout the body. The first 2 candidates, SV-101 and SV-102 are currently in Phase 1 trials. Syncromune is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA. For more information, please visit www.syncromune.com.
Biocytogen and Eucure Contacts:
Antibody assets and platforms: [email protected]
Media: [email protected]
Syncromune Contact:
Danielle Hobbs
EVP, Corporate Communications
