Ipsen is back with its second antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) deal of the year, this time signing a $1 billion biobucks pact with Foreseen Biotechnology for a preclinical solid tumor candidate.
The candidate in question, dubbed FS001, uses a cleavable linker coupled to a potent topoisomerase I (Topo1) inhibitor to target a novel, undisclosed tumor-associated antigen. FS001 has already proven its first-in-class potential in multidrug-resistant cancer models and is currently completing the final stages of preclinical development, Ipsen said in the July 11 release.
In return for the exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize FS001, the French biotech has signed a deal totaling $1.03 billion in upfront, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. While the company didn’t give a breakdown of the financials, it did say that Foreseen will also be eligible for tiered royalties on global sales should FS001 get to market.
Ipsen will take over responsibility for preparing the candidate to enter phase 1 trials, including overseeing the submission of a investigational new drug application to the FDA.
Topo1 inhibitors have already caught the attention of major players in the ADC space, including Eli Lilly’s acquisition of Mablink Biosciences and AbbVie’s buyout of ProfoundBio. The ADCs at the center of both those deals are designed to deliver the Topo1 inhibitor to cells that express folate receptor alpha (FRα).
Today’s deal comes three months after Ipsen joined the ADC race via $90 million in near-term payments to attain the global rights to a preclinical candidate from Sutro Biopharma. That agreement also saw Ipsen take responsibility for bringing the asset—which targets the receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1) tumor antigen—into the clinic.
The Sutro pact was part of Ipsen’s external innovation strategy intended to add a third driver of growth, on top of existing products and new launches, and offset the loss of somatuline sales.
“We are excited to add FS001, the second ADC Ipsen has in-licensed this year, to our growing pipeline,” Mary Jane Hinrichs, Ph.D., senior vice president and head of early development at Ipsen, said in this morning’s release.
“Using cutting-edge proteomics technology and AI-powered screening platforms the Foreseen team has uncovered a novel and clinically relevant target which could unlock the potential of ADCs for even more people living with hard-to-treat forms of cancer,” Hinrichs added. “As we prepare for the initiation of a phase 1 clinical trial, we will evaluate FS001 in selected solid tumor types, which we hope will deliver critical new treatments for people living with cancer around the world.”
Since being founded in 2021, Foreseen has kept a low profile with the company’s website currently under development. Today’s release says the “emerging biotech,” which was incubated by Massachusetts-based VC firm Nest.Bio Ventures, uses a translational proteomics platform to “accelerate discovery of novel targets for therapeutics and diagnostics.”
The red-hot therapy area of ADCs isn’t the only modality on Ipsen’s radar this summer. Last month, the Paris-based biotech paid Marengo up to $1.2 billion to access a T-cell engager platform for targeting immunologically cold tumors that are typically resistant to immunotherapies.