Araris Biotech cooperates with Chugai Pharmaceutical

(CONNECT) Araris Biotech has signed an agreement with the Japanese pharmaceutical company Chugai Pharmaceutical on a research collaboration with license options. Araris will utilize its proprietary linker conjugation platform AraLinQTM to generate novel antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) using antibodies against undisclosed targets provided by Chugai. "We will use our ADC technology to develop next-generation ADCs with improved efficacy and tolerability," said Araris CEO and co-founder Dr. Dragan Gravulovski in a press release.

Dr. Philipp Spycher, Scientific Director of the spin-off from the Paul Scherrer Institute and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, sees this second collaboration with a large pharmaceutical company as "proof of the attractiveness of our highly differentiated ADC platform and its potential to generate innovative ADCs with excellent pharmacokinetic properties and a broad therapeutic index". Araris' linker platform enables the attachment of payloads to standard antibodies in one step, without the need to redesign or reduce the antibodies. According to Araris, this leads to highly homogeneous, stable and effective ADC therapies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Chugai, a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Roche, will make an upfront payment, fund all research activities and assume sole responsibility for development, manufacturing and global commercialization activities upon exercise of the option. Upon achievement of certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones by Chugai following exercise of the option, Araris will be eligible to receive potential milestone payments of approximately $780 million plus royalties on net product sales. ce/mm