LinXis has granted APO-T an exclusive worldwide license for the development and commercialization of fully human antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) using APO-T’s MAGE-HLA targeted antibodies and LinXis’ Lx®, the firm’s linker technology. In exchange, LinXis will receive milestone payments and royalties.
According to the company, with Lx, the biological functionality of both molecules can be retained in the ADC/ATC. Up to 30 Lx-drug or Lx-tracer molecules can be bound to one antibody molecule without denaturation or loss of biological activity. Using kinase inhibitors or cytotoxic agents as drugs, a high antibody load enhances the target cell pharmacodynamics of an ADC. Using optical or radioactive tracers, a high antibody load enhances the signal-to-noise ratio of an ATC. In both applications, the antibody load using Lx far exceeds that of covalent linker platforms, LinXis reports.
LinXis is dedicated to the discovery and development of methods to effectively link drugs (e.g., cytotoxic drugs, kinase inhibitors) to targeting moieties such as antibodies, by using (transition-)metal ion complexes without affecting the immunoreactivity of the antibody.
APO-T has developed fully human antibodies and antibody fragments that target any tumor cell that expresses a MAGE-A peptide in the context of MHC-1. Many different kinds of tumors expose this MAGE-MHC-1 peptide complex.