Dec. 15 Quick Takes: Pfizer, Nona in ADC deal

Building on the antibody-drug conjugate programs gained through the acquisition of Seagen Inc., Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) signed a licensing deal with Nona Bioscience to access HBM9033, an ADC targeting MSLN. Pfizer will pay $53 million in upfront and near-term payments, with the HBM Holdings Ltd. (HKEX:02142) subsidiary eligible for up to $1.05 billion in milestones and undisclosed royalties. Pfizer is the latest company to do an ADC deal with a company with Asian ties, and the licensing deal gives the pharma a candidate against a target absent from Seagen’s large pipeline.

FDA approved Padcev enfortumab vedotin-ejfv from Seagen and Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo:4503) plus Keytruda pembrolizumab from Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) to treat locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. FDA previously granted accelerated approval to this combination for patients who are ineligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy. In October, the combination set a new standard for urothelial cancer after data from the Phase III EV-302/KEYNOTE-A39 trial presented at the ESMO Congress 2023 showed it nearly doubled survival...