Chinese biopharmaceutical company Innovent Biologics Inc (HKEX: 01801) announced on Wednesday a collaboration and exclusive licence agreement with Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche (SIX: RO, ROG) (OTCQX: RHHBY) to advance the development of IBI3009, a novel DLL3-targeted antibody drug conjugate (ADC) candidate.

IBI3009 has already obtained IND approvals in Australia, China and the United States, with the first patient for the Phase 1 study dosed in December 2024. This collaboration aims to bring innovative treatment options to patients with advanced small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

IBI3009 targets DLL3, an antigen with low expression in normal tissues but significantly overexpressed in certain cancers, particularly SCLC and other neuroendocrine tumours. Developed leveraging Innovent's proprietary novel topoisomerase 1 inhibitor (TOPO1i) platform, IBI3009 is claimed by the company to be one of the leading and potentially best-in-class DLL3-targeting ADCs. It says that IBI3009 has shown encouraging anti-tumour activity in multiple tumour-bearing mouse models, particularly in chemo-resistant tumour types, and has demonstrated a favourable safety profile.

Under the agreement, Innovent has granted Roche exclusive global rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise IBI3009. The two parties will jointly focus on the early-stage development of the ADC candidate, after which Roche will take over full development. Innovent will receive an upfront payment of USD80m and is eligible to receive up to USD1bn in development and commercial milestone payments, along with tiered royalties on net sales.