SAN DIEGO and SUZHOU, China, Dec 23 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Adagene Inc. (“Adagene”) (Nasdaq: ADAG), a biopharmaceutical company committed to transforming the discovery and development of novel antibody-based immunotherapies, today announced achievement of a key milestone in its ongoing collaboration with Exelixis for development of novel masked antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates leveraging Adagene’s proprietary SAFEbody precision masking technology. Under the terms of a collaboration and licensing agreement established in early 2021, Adagene will receive a $3 million milestone payment for successful nomination of lead SAFEbody candidates for one of its collaboration programs.
“We are extremely proud of successfully providing lead SAFEbody candidates to Exelixis following the start of our collaboration earlier this year. Exelixis’ selection of these lead candidates further validates our proprietary SAFEbody technology and highlights the prowess of our overall DPL platform,” said Peter Luo, Ph.D., Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of Adagene. “Our SAFEbody masking technology is receiving clinical validation in our ongoing clinical trial from our anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody program, and also marks a potential paradigm shift in the way a highly potent modality such as ADCs can be designed and developed, ultimately helping to improve the lives of patients suffering from cancer and other debilitating diseases.”