Biomunex, Onward Ink Strategic Antibody Development Pact

Biomunex Pharmaceuticals, a biopharma company developing immunotherapy through bi- and multi-specific antibodies, and Onward Therapeutics SA, a development stage oncology company, have signed a strategic exclusive worldwide license and development agreement for a bispecific antibody program leveraging Biomunex's next gen bi- and multi-specific antibody platform BiXAb.

Biomunex will receive an upfront payment for the license and may  receive clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, and royalties on global sales. Onward is also investing in the ongoing Biomunex Series A financing round. Financial details were not disclosed.

Biomunex and Onward will jointly develop, in a preclinical and early clinical program, a ‘first-in-class’ immunotherapeutic bispecific antibody, proprietary to Biomunex, in hematological malignancies. Biomunex will be responsible for the early development, and Onward will take over the regulatory preclinical activities and subsequently clinical development of the product within various indications and geographies.

"This license and co-development agreement demonstrates the value of our disruptive BiXAb technology in rapidly and efficiently generating new drugs in immuno-oncology. With this agreement, the ultimate objective is twofold: to discover and develop innovative bi- and multi-specific antibodies, offering new therapeutic options to patients and to bring an excellent return on investment and a high multiple to our investors,” said Dr. Pierre-Emmanuel Gerard, founder and CEO of Biomunex. "The revenue, as well as the planned Series A fundraising, will allow us to further accelerate our corporate growth and drive our immuno-oncology drug candidates towards clinical development.”

“This deal is a great opportunity for Onward Therapeutics in establishing our product portfolio in the exciting field of immuno-oncology,” said Dr. C. Grace Yeh, Chairman and CEO of Onward. “Both companies believe that this project ushers in the beginning of a productive collaboration for building innovative and robust pipelines in the future.”