Boehringer’s latest conjugate deal rings some old bells

Boehringer Ingelheim’s ill-fated foray into ROR1-targeting antibody-drug conjugates hasn’t stopped the German firm from pursuing development of ADCs, as evidenced by Wednesday’s deal with South Korea’s AimedBio. This tie-up is worth $991m in biodollars but has an undisclosed up-front, and the ADC Boehringer has licensed has an undisclosed target. However, a look at AimedBio’s pipeline reveals AMB303, an ADC against none other than ROR1. In 2020 Boehringer acquired NBE-Therapeutics for up to $1.5bn for the anti-ROR1 ADC BI 3702025/NBE-002, but this molecule’s 100-patient trial was quietly terminated after enrolling just 12. There’s no evidence yet that AMB303 is the asset that Boehringer has just licensed, though the latest deal is routed through NBE, which now serves as the German company’s ADC division. AimedBio’s best-known deal is with Biohaven, covering rights to a topoisomerase 1 inhibitor payload that’s being used in the anti-FGFR3 ADC BHV-1530. This payload stems from an April 2022 tie-up between AimedBio and GeneQuantum Healthcare. AimedBio, a spin-off from Samsung Medical Center, has previously flirted with NK cell therapies in a 2022 tie-up with GC Cell, but its focus now is mostly on developing ADCs based on camptothecin (AMB402) and duocarmycin (AMB401) payloads.

AimedBio's ADC pipieline

Source: OncologyPipeline.