NTX-1107

Immunotherapies and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are all the rage, although many of the most successful cancer drugs of the last two decades pursue only a small set of proven targets.In a move that could expand this limited repertoire, Nectin Therapeutics said Thursday it has inked an agreement granting Immunome exclusive rights to a panel of antibodies directed against a "first-in-class" target – although what that target is exactly is being kept under wraps for now.Immunome is led by industry veteran Clay Siegall, who co-founded ADC pioneer Seagen (then known as Seattle Genetics) back in 1997. Seagen has since gone on to be acquired by Pfizer to the tune of $43 billion.Underexplored targets"The next generation of transformative antibody-drug conjugates will address novel targets by pairing high-quality antibodies with innovative linker-payload technology," Siegall said. "We appreciate the work Nectin has done on these antibodies and look forward to advancing them further."The collaboration aligns with Immunome's approach of pursuing underexplored targets, a strategy the company believes will drive the next wave of therapies in oncology. For more on the space, see – Vital Signs: Tracking the new converts to ADCs.Commenting on the alliance, Nectin CEO Fabian Tenenbaum told FirstWord that the target in question is a "specific antigen that is differentially expressed on a number of tumours that currently have significant unmet need, and [we] have seen really compelling evidence from our preclinical work in terms of both in vitro and in vivo efficacy, with a number of next-generation payload compounds."Tenenbaum also shed light on why Nectin chose to partner with Immunome, noting that Siegall "obviously has a tremendous track record in building Seagen," as do other senior team members at Immunome who have experience "developing and commercialising novel antibody-drug conjugates."While financial details of the agreement remain confidential, Nectin will receive an upfront payment and also be eligible for milestones and royalties. Meanwhile, Tenenbaum hinted at the potential timeline for development, saying "we do think that an IND (investigational new drug) filing and a Phase I can start within the next 24 months. That's a very reasonable timeline."The agreement doesn't include Nectin's internal pipeline candidates, but Tenenbaum indicated that the deal would bring capital to allow it to move some of its in-house assets forward.The company's most advanced project, NTX1088, is a monoclonal antibody directed against the PVR (CD155) immune checkpoint, and is currently in Phase I for solid tumours both as monotherapy and in combination with Merck & Co.'s PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab). Nectin is also advancing NTX2R13, targeting CD112R (PVRIG), which is in the IND-enabling phase.It is working on a trio of ADCs as well: one targeting Nectin2 (NTX1107) for both solid and haematological cancers, another directed against Nectin4 (NTX1105) and a third against PVR (NTX8090), both for solid tumours.