GSK Plc GSK

• WuXi Biologics will provide an exclusive license to GSK for one preclinical bi-specific T cell engaging (TCE) antibody and the option of three additional bi-/multi-specific TCE antibodies developed using WuXi Biologics' proprietary technology platforms
• WuXi Biologics will receive an upfront payment of $40 million and tiered royalties on net sales

SHANGHAI, Jan. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi Biologics ("WuXi Bio") (2269. HK), a leading global Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO), today announced a license agreement with GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) under which GSK will have exclusive licenses for up to four bi- & multi-specific TCE antibodies developed using WuXi Biologics' proprietary technology platforms.

Under the terms of the agreement, GSK will be granted an exclusive global license for the research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of a pre-clinical bispecific antibody that crosslinks tumor cells and T cells by targeting a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) on tumor cells and CD3 expression on T cells and up to three additional pre-clinical TCE antibodies currently at an earlier discovery stage. WuXi Biologics will receive a $40 million upfront payment and up to $1.46 billion in additional payments for research, development, regulatory and commercial milestones across the four TCE antibodies. WuXi Biologics is also eligible to receive tiered royalties on net sales.

Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics, commented, "This license agreement with GSK represents an important validation of our potential best-in-class CD3 platform and WuXiBody® platform, the 'R' in our CRDMO business model. This also demonstrates our efforts in offering global open-access technology platforms with premier quality and excellent execution. We are looking forward to enabling GSK to bring these potentially life-saving therapeutics to more patients worldwide."

John Lepore, Senior Vice President, Head of Research GSK, said, "This agreement with WuXi Biologics builds on our oncology portfolio of tumor cell targeting agents by providing GSK with access to potential best-in-class T-cell engaging antibodies that have been optimized for effective tumor killing with a desirable safety profile, offering the potential to address significant unmet medical need in patients with multiple tumor types."

About WuXiBody®

WuXiBody® is a leading proprietary bispecific antibody platform developed by WuXi Biologics. It can effectively break through the discovery and CMC barriers for the development of many bispecific antibodies with high expression yield, high stability, good solubility, and easy purification to homogeneity, expedite the process by 6-18 months and significantly reduce manufacturing costs, a limitation still faced by many other current bispecific platforms. WuXiBody® platform enables almost any mAb sequence pairs to be assembled into bispecific constructs, which are expected to have low immunogenicity risk and longer in vivo half-life. WuXiBody® platform also has a unique structural flexibility, which makes it convenient to build various formats with different combinations of valencies (1+1, 1+2, 2+2) to meet the requirements of different target biology.

In addition to WuXiBody®, WuXi Biologics also developed a suite of proprietary bispecific and multispecific antibody platforms including VHH antibody-based SDArBody^TM, stabilized scFv-based SkyBody^TM, and have access to OmniFlic® rats to generate common light chain-based bispecific antibody through collaboration with Ligand. These platforms together with the flagship platform, WuXiBody®, enable WuXi Biologics to make various bispecific and multi-specific antibodies to meet various biology needs of the company's clients, including to support development of assets in the GSK license agreement. 

About WuXi Biologics

WuXi Biologics (stock code: 2269.HK) is a leading global Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) offering end-to-end solutions that enable partners to discover, develop and manufacture biologics – from concept to commercialization – for the benefit of patients worldwide.

With over 10,000 skilled employees in China, the United States, Ireland, Germany and Singapore, WuXi Biologics leverages its technologies and expertise to provide customers with efficient and cost-effective biologics discovery, development and manufacturing solutions.

WuXi Biologics views Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) responsibilities as an integral component of our ethos and business strategy, and we aim to become an ESG leader in the biologics CRDMO sector. Our facilities use next-generation biomanufacturing technologies and clean-energy sources. We have also established an ESG committee led by our CEO to steer the comprehensive ESG strategy and its implementation, enhancing our commitment to sustainability.

For more information about WuXi Biologics, please visit: www.wuxibiologics.com.

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SOURCE WuXi Biologics