CDMO WuXi Biologics signed a deal with Candid Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, giving Candid exclusive global rights to a preclinical trispecific T-cell engager discovered on WuXi Biologics’ proprietary universal multispecific antibody platform WuXiBody™. WuXi Biologics is eligible to obtain an upfront payment and development and sales milestones totaling up to $925 million as well as royalties.
“We’re glad to enable Candid to advance the progress of T-cell engagers through WuXiBody,” said Chris Chen, PhD, CEO of WuXi Biologics. “This collaboration not only showcases the platform’s capabilities in trispecific discovery in addition to its well-validated bispecific discovery, but also reinforces WuXi Biologics’ position as a preferred partner for pioneering next-generation modalities.”
“With this collaboration, we have enabled seven global programs for molecules discovery through our Research (R) platform in 2024 and are eligible to receive around U.S. 140 million in near-term payments and the total potential payments exceeding U.S. 2.3 billion.”
“To further solidify our leadership position in T-cell engagers to deplete B cells for treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, this transaction uniquely positions us with three TCE programs targeting BCMA, CD20, and CD19 in or near clinical development. We are excited to further the advances made by WuXi Biologics and to unlock the full potential of this molecule,” said Ken Song, MD, chairman, president, and CEO of Candid.
Widespread adoption
Based on the widespread adoption of WuXiBody platform in bispecific antibody discovery, WuXi Biologics has upgraded it to deliver transformative and customized multispecific antibodies, addressing the growing global demand for these complex molecules, noted Chen, adding that WuXiBody can effectively break through the discovery and CMC barriers for the development of many multispecific antibodies with high expression yield, high stability, good solubility, and easy purification to homogeneity.
Separately, WuXi Vaccines, a subsidiary of WuXi Biologics, agreed to sell its vaccine manufacturing facility in Dundalk, Ireland, to Merck Sharp & Dohme for approximately $500 million in a transaction expected to close during the first half of 2025.
Last October, the Financial Times reported that WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics were thinking about selling sell some of their operations in the U.S. and Europe after Chinese biotech companies were targeted by the U.S. on national security grounds, i.e., the Biosecure Act.
