Adagene Announces Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Tanabe Research Laboratories

SAN FRANCISCO, and SUZHOU, China, and SAN DIEGO, June 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Adagene Incorporated, a precision antibody engineering, discovery and development company, and Tanabe Research Laboratories U.S.A., Inc. (TRL), a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC), today announced that the companies have entered into a strategic collaboration under which TRL will use Adagene's SAFEbodytm technology platform to generate a masked antibody in combination with the cytotoxic payload technologies used at TRL, for the development of an ADC against a solid tumor target.

Adagene has developed the SAFEbodytm technology platform for discovery of  a masked antibody which is activated by factors present in tumor tissues but not in healthy tissues. This allows for the tumor-specific targeting of antibodies with minimized on-target toxicity in healthy tissues. The tumor-specific targeting technology is expected to safely enhance the therapeutic index of the ADC delivery of the cytotoxic payload.

"We look forward to combining our SAFEbodytm technology with TRL's ADC technologies to develop a treatment for a solid tumor target," said Peter Luo, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Adagene. "Adagene's precision protein engineering capabilities enable us to create highly masked antibodies while retaining their efficacy. Traditional ADC technologies are limited in most solid tumor targets because toxicity was observed at optimal efficacious doses. Our new modality, POWERbodytm, combining SAFEbodytm with ADCs, aims to deliver safe and potent therapies toward a wide range of targets."

Financial terms and target identification were not disclosed.

About Adagene

Adagene, Inc. is a private, clinical-stage, leading-edge oncology immunotherapy company driven by its powerful Dynamic Precision Library platform built to deliver treatments with increased efficacy and safety. Adagene combines computational biology and artificial intelligence to design novel antibodies that address unmet patient needs. Its wholly owned pipeline is comprised of novel immunotherapy programs with potential to be first or best in class. Adagene has forged strategic collaborations with reputable global partners that leverage its technology in multiple approaches at the vanguard of science. Founded and led by experienced leaders with a global track record in antibody discovery and engineering, Adagene has raised more than $150 million from high-profile investors including F-Prime, Eight Roads, WuXi AppTec, GP Healthcare Capital, New World TMT, Sequoia China and General Atlantic, among others.

About Tanabe Research Laboratories U.S.A., Inc. (TRL)

TRL is an independent subsidiary of MTPC located in San Diego California, whose role is to discover and develop biological drug candidates for therapy. Currently, TRL's efforts are directed towards antibody and antibody-related research to target tumors and other diseases with high unmet needs. http://www.trlusa.com/

SOURCE Adagene Incorporated