Sweden's Sobi To License Loncastuximab Tesirine From ADC Therapeutics For $55 Mln Upfront Payment

(RTTNews) - Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB or Sobi (SWTUY.PK), a specialised biopharmaceutical company, announced Friday an exclusive license agreement with ADC Therapeutics SA for loncastuximab tesirine.

Under the deal terms, Sobi has been granted rights to develop and commercialise loncastuximab tesirine for all hematologic and solid tumour indications in Europe and most international markets, outside of the United States, greater China, Singapore and Japan.

Sobi will pay $55 million in an upfront payment, to be financed by Sobi's cash reserves, and $50 million at EU regulatory approval in 3rd-line DLBCL.

The company will also pay royalties from mid-teens to mid-twenties percent of net sales and up to approximately $330 million in potential regulatory and sales milestones.

As loncastuximab tesirine is in development for other indications, Sobi will contribute 25 percent of the direct development costs up to a cap of $10 million per year. ADC Therapeutics is responsible for clinical development and product supply to Sobi.

Loncastuximab tesirine is an antibody-drug conjugate or ADC against CD19, a protein expressed on the surface of B cells.

In April 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval for ZYNLONTA, the US brand name for loncastuximab tesirine, as a single-agent treatment for adult patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL after two or more lines of systemic therapy.

In the EU, the medicine has orphan drug designation to treat DLBCL and is under regulatory review since October 2021 with a decision anticipated in the first quarter of 2023.

The deal is expected to augment Sobi's presence in orphan diseases within haematology. The medicine would be made commercially available alongside other Sobi haematology medicines, including Doptelet.

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