Dren Bio inked a research pact with Novartis for select myeloid engagers to treat cancer, marking its second collaboration with a large pharma.
The Swiss drug giant will pay $150 million upfront — including $25 million in equity — for an undisclosed number of candidates, with the two working together through clinical candidate selection. At that point, Novartis will be responsible for further clinical development. Dren stands to earn as much as $2.85 billion in milestone payments should the candidates be successful, according to Wednesday’s announcement.
Novartis follows in the footsteps of Pfizer, which sealed a partnership with Dren more than two years ago. That deal was considerably smaller, with Pfizer paying $25 million upfront with more than $1 billion in biobucks available.
Core to both deals is Dren’s bispecific antibody platform, which mainly generates candidates aimed at myeloid cell activation. The cells are a central figure in immune system activation or deactivation, and Dren says they are potentially safer and more potent than similar T cell engagers or antibody-drug conjugates.
Because myeloid cells play a key role as a referee to the immune system, Dren’s pipeline is mainly tailored toward cancer and autoimmune diseases. Its lead asset, however, is a monoclonal antibody targeting CD94 that has an enhanced ability to draw immune cells. An ongoing Phase 1/2 study is testing DR-01 in patients with a rare form of leukemia or cytotoxic lymphomas. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society made an undisclosed equity investment in Dren in late 2022 to help finance the trial.
The California-based company started its second trial this month, testing DR-0201 in patients with relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The Phase 1 study is aiming to recruit about 50 patients across sites in Asia and Australia.
Prior to the deal with Novartis, Dren’s last publicly announced financing was in June 2022, when the biotech raised $65 million from Pfizer, Aisling Capital and HBM Healthcare Investments, among others. The company was valued at $281 million as of the end of March, according to an annual report from HBM.
The biotech launched in October 2020 with a $60 million Series A led by SR One and Taiho Ventures.