Vertex Pharmaceuticals will use Orum Therapeutics’ dual-precision targeted protein degradation (TPD2 ) technology platform to discover targeted conditioning agents for use with gene editing therapies, the companies said today, through a collaboration that could generate up to $945 million-plus for the degrader antibody conjugate (DAC) developer. Orum has granted Vertex rights to conduct research using its TPD2 approach to developing DACs, next-generation versions of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) which use antibodies to precisely deliver small molecule targeted protein degrader payloads to cancer cells and other targeted biological therapies. Following a research period for each target, Vertex will have the option to obtain a worldwide, exclusive license to research, develop, manufacture, and commercialize DACs developed with Orum’s TPD2 technology for that target.
Vertex has agreed to pay Orum $15 million upfront, plus option payments and milestones potentially totaling up to $310 million per target for up to three targets—up to $930 million total—as well as tiered royalties on potential future global annual net sales. Vertex has agreed to oversee all research, development, and commercialization for the collaboration. The collaboration comes at a time when researchers across industry and academia are , a crucial component of cell and gene therapy protocols.
That effort is of keen interest to Vertex, which made history last December when Casgevy (exagamglogene autote.
