Under the terms of the agreement, Affibody will receive a $10 million upfront payment and is eligible to receive up to $215.5 million in additional regulatory and sales milestones, plus royalties on sales in Inmagene’s commercialization territory.

Affibody and Inmagene Biopharmaceuticals have announced a strategic partnership to develop and commercialize ABY-035, a bispecific molecule targeting Interleukin-17A (IL-17), for multiple auto-immune diseases.

Inmagene will be responsible for commercialization in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau (Greater China), and South Korea, as well as development activities in the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan.

Affibody will retain global commercial rights outside of Greater China and South Korea. The partners will work together to enroll patients into global registrational trials to support Biologics License Applications (BLAs) in multiple indications worldwide.

“This creative alliance between Affibody and Inmagene is poised to deliver on ABY-035’s best-in-class potential by accelerating the time to commercialization across multiple indications and accessing a significant market opportunity in Greater China,” says David Bejker, CEO of Affibody. “With the extensive track record of the Inmagene team, we will be able to leverage access to the Chinese market, providing additional opportunities for development and commercialization. The team’s vision of creating the leading Chinese immunology company is one we are excited to be a part of.”

“Under the terms of the agreement, Affibody will receive a $10 million upfront payment and is eligible to receive up to $215.5 million in additional regulatory and sales milestones, plus royalties on sales in Inmagene’s commercialization territory.”

A $10 million upfront payment

Under the terms of the agreement, Affibody will receive a $10 million upfront payment and is eligible to receive up to $215.5 million in additional regulatory and sales milestones, plus royalties on sales in Inmagene’s commercialization territory.

Additionally, Inmagene will share the global development costs of select clinical trials and be eligible to receive payments and royalties from Affibody relating to certain global development and commercialization milestones. Affibody will be responsible for the manufacturing and supply of ABY-035 for development and commercialization worldwide and is not precluded from additional collaboration and licensing agreements in territories not covered by this agreement.

About ABY-035

Currently in Phase 2 development, ABY-035 is an innovative fusion protein targeting IL-17. ABY-035 combines Affibody’s proprietary protein therapeutics platform (Affibody technology), which confers greater potency in a small molecular format, and the Albumod technology which provides a long half-life. Together, these features provide the potential for best-in-class efficacy in a convenient, less frequent and at-home subcutaneous administration. In the ongoing Phase 2 Psoriasis Trial, ABY-035 has demonstrated a strong safety profile and clear clinical benefits.

“Based on ABY-035’s strong clinical data and significant advantages over antibody-based IL-17 therapies, we believe it has the best-in-class potential,” says Jonathan Wang, Ph.D., Inmagene’s Chairman and CEO. “ABY-035 may provide affordable solutions to Chinese patients with high unmet medical needs and become a key pillar for Inmagene to establish a leadership position in China’s immunology related therapeutic areas.”

The Inmagene clinical development team will work closely with Affibody to conduct global trials in multiple regions to shorten the development timelines. Inmagene will take the lead of the global development strategy and implementation in two indications.

Photo of David Bejker: Affibody