Chong Kun Dang Pharm and Synaffix Enter a Licensing Agreement

Chong Kun Dang Pharm (CKD), a global pharmaceutical company based in South Korea, and Synaffix B.V., a biotechnology company focused on commercializing its clinical-stage platform technology for the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with best-in-class therapeutic index, have announced that they have entered a licensing agreement.

The agreement provides CKD a license for global, target-specific rights to Synaffix’s proprietary ADC technology, adding a new ADC drug candidate to CKD’s pipeline. CKD will have access to Synaffix’s ADC technologies, comprising GlycoConnect™, HydraSpace™ and an undisclosed linker-payload from the toxSYN™ platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Synaffix has received an upfront payment and is eligible to receive further milestone payments plus royalties on commercial sales. CKD will be responsible for the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of the ADCs. Synaffix will be responsible for the manufacturing of components that are specifically related to its proprietary technologies.

Peter van de Sande, Chief Executive Officer of Synaffix, said: “Scientific rigor and a growing body of promising underlying data have led us to this exciting moment where we can bring a new ADC into the development pipeline of CKD Pharm. We value the strong experience of the CKD team within the oncology space and look forward to building on this further as we continue our close and long-standing collaboration aimed at bringing this promising new drug candidate to patients in need.”

Young-Joo, Kim, Chief Executive Officer of Chong Kun Dang Pharm said: “By combining our existing oncology expertise and related technologies with the ADC platform of Synaffix, we have been able to efficiently establish a novel ADC candidate for CKD’s pipeline. CKD’s work is deeply rooted in oncology, and we are committed to improving the quality of life for patients by developing highly targeted novel drugs for the treatment of cancer.”