SUZHOU, China, Jan. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — MediLink Therapeutics ("MediLink"), announced today that it has entered into a worldwide collaboration and license agreement with Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) on the development of a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate candidate YL211, targeting c-Mesenchymal epithelial transition factor (c-Met) against solid tumors.
Under the terms of the agreement, MediLink will grant Roche exclusive global rights for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of MediLink’s ADC asset, YL211. MediLink will work together with Roche’s R&D unit China Innovation Center of Roche (CICoR) to initiate the Phase I clinical trial of YL211 and Roche will then take over the further development and commercialization globally. MediLink will receive upfront and near-term milestone payments totaling $50 million and, together with additional development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments potentially reaching a total deal value nearing $1 billion, as well as tiered royalties on future global annual net sales.
About YL211
YL211 is a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate specifically targeting c-Mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-Met), which belongs to the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family. c-Met is closely associated with tumor formation, aggressive growth, and metastasis, making it a critical target for treating epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Despite c-Met targeting therapies including ADCs showing efficacy for patients with solid tumors, there remains an opportunity to address the significant unmet medical need for patients by providing a better treatment option worldwide. YL211, currently at IND stage, utilizes MediLink’s latest generation TMALIN® ADC platform technology, along with a highly specific c-Met antibody. It has demonstrated promising efficacy and safety in various preclinical tumor models and safety evaluation experiments.
About MediLink Therapeutics
MediLink Therapeutics founded in 2020, is a clinical stage biotech company focused on developing globally competitive conjugated drugs. MediLink has built a differentiated proprietary Tumor Microenvironment Activable LINker-payload (TMALIN®) ADC technology platform. It can generate homogeneous ADC, and further improve the therapeutic window in treatment of solid tumors. MediLink focuses their clinical drug development on unmet medical needs and will continuously expand into new disease areas to serve the global patients.
MediLink is headquartered in Suzhou and has established R&D subsidiaries in Shanghai and Boston.
About TMALIN®
The Tumor Microenvironment Activable LINker-payload (TMALIN®) is a novel ADC platform technology developed by MediLink Therapeutics with independent intellectual property rights. It utilizes a dual cleavage mechanism both intracellularly and extracellularly, taking advantage of the tumor microenvironment and traditional lysosomes. TMALIN® offers high hydrophilicity, high homogeneity DAR value, high in vitro & in vivo stability, and tumor accumulation characteristics. In multiple CDX and PDX models, as well as tox studies, it has demonstrated a wider therapeutic window compared to existing ADC technologies. Currently, several ADC products based on this platform have entered into clinical trial stage.
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