Regeneron pens $2.3B pact with Parabilis to develop new type of ADC-like therapy
Regeneron has ponied up $125 million in cash and an equity investment in Parabilis Medicines to join forces on a new type of antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that could have better luck binding to tricky target sites.At the center of the deal is Parabilis’ Helicon peptide platform.
The Power of Helicon Peptides
Helicons are stabilized, cell-penetrant alpha-helical peptides designed to engage intracellular protein targets.Their superpower is the ability to attach to flat surfaces that would otherwise make traditional small-molecule binding difficult.Part of the collaboration with Regeneron will involve exploring the use of Helicons as standalone therapies.But Regeneron said it will have a “particular focus” on antibody-Helicon conjugates (AHCs).
These AHCs have a similar principle to ADCs—with an antibody helping to deliver a Helicon payload to the target site.Using a Helicon should mean these AHCs are able to selectively modulate intracellular proteins that are otherwise considered undruggable, Regeneron explained in a May 18 release.New Helicons and AHCs discovered under the collaboration will be developed and commercialized by Regeneron.
Financial Terms and Strategic Vision
The deal—which spans five initial targets—will see Parabilis receive $50 million in upfront cash as well as a $75 million equity investment from Regeneron.Down the line, Regeneron is liable to pay out up to $2.2 billion in milestones across those five targets, with the company having the option to select further targets if it fronts up more cash.
“This collaboration reflects Regeneron’s approach of advancing cutting-edge and diversified science to produce a robust portfolio of innovative medicines for patients in need,” Regeneron’s Chief Scientific Officer George Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., said in a statement.“In addition to the potential of Helicons to address previously undruggable targets, the collaboration’s intent to couple Helicons to our VelocImmune-derived antibodies so as to precisely deliver them to cells of interest represents an exciting new approach with the potential to create an entirely new therapeutic class that can span multiple therapeutic areas,” Yancopoulos said.
Regeneron’s VelocImmune program took a hit last Friday, when the company announced the failure of its LAG-3 inhibitor fianlimab to defeat Keytruda in a phase 3 melanoma study.Meanwhile, Parabilis has been on a roll.The Massachusetts biotech, formerly known as FogPharma, closed a $305 million series F round in January that the company is using to fund its Wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibitor zolucatetide toward a pivotal phase 3 trial in desmoid tumors.
Parabilis CEO Mathai Mammen, M.D., Ph.D., said this morning that the biotech had already “demonstrated the potential of Helicon peptides to directly inhibit or degrade several disease-driving proteins in oncology that have long been considered out of reach.”“We are thrilled to enter into a collaboration with Regeneron that builds on this foundation, combining the intracellular access and binding capabilities of our Helicons against challenging targets with antibodies from Regeneron,” Mammen added.
