Ambrx and NovoCodex form Second Collaboration to Develop and Commercialize Ambrx's Antibody Drug Conjugates

SAN DIEGO and SHANGHAI, Oct. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ambrx and NovoCodex Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., (NovoCodex), a majority owned company of Zhejiang Medicine Co Ltd., today announced that they have formed a second collaboration to develop and commercialize Ambrx's internally developed site-specific antibody drug conjugates (ADCs).  Under the agreement, Ambrx and NovoCodex will join forces to continue the development of ARX305, an Ambrx enabled ADC for the treatment of CD70 positive cancers.

Under the terms of the agreement, NovoCodex is responsible for developing and commercializing ARX305 in China while Ambrx is responsible for developing and commercializing ARX305 outside of China. NovoCodex will fund global development activities to the end of Phase 1 clinical trials and pay Ambrx an undisclosed upfront payment, development milestones, and a double digit royalty on product sales in China. NovoCodex is also eligible to share in undisclosed portion of ARX305 product sales outside of China.

"We are excited to initiate our second collaboration with NovoCodex following our successful collaboration with ARX788, which is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials for HER2 positive breast and gastric cancers. ARX305 is a natural extension to the first collaboration with the inclusion of another Ambrx enabled ADC that is intended to treat CD70 positive cancers such as Renal Cell Carcinoma and Multiple Myeloma. Further, we continue to align ourselves with China's leading pharmaceutical companies," said Feng Tian, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Ambrx. "ARX305, which is expected to start Phase 1 clinical trials in early 2021, allows Ambrx to expand its ADC pipeline into multiple cancer types while gaining access to the China market through our partnership with NovoCodex."

Chunbo Li, Chairman of Zhejiang Medicine, commented, "The smooth progress of our first ZMC-Ambrx collaborated ADC project, ARX788, proves that Ambrx' technology is one of the best methods to make an ADC drug.  The new alliance with Ambrx on ARX305 will strengthen our leading position on ADC research, and hopefully will bring new treatment to related cancer patients."

About Ambrx

Ambrx Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company using an expanded genetic code to create first- and/or best-in-class biotherapeutics, including antibody drug conjugates (ADC), immunomodulating proteins, bispecific antibodies and other therapeutic proteins with improved pharmacologic properties.  Leveraging the Ambrx proprietary technology platforms, Ambrx has collaborations with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Astellas, BeiGene, Elanco and ZMC, with drug products generated using Ambrx technology in different stages of clinical trials. Ambrx is advancing a robust portfolio of product candidates that are optimized for efficacy, safety and ease of use in multiple therapeutic areas. For additional information, visit www.ambrx.com  

About ARX305

CD70 is highly expressed in multiple solid and liquid tumors such as Renal Cell Carcinoma, Multiple Myeloma, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, AML, and etc. ARX305 is a best-in-class anti-CD70 ADC that was precision-engineered using Ambrx proprietary antibody and clinically validated drug payload. Strong in vitro and in vivo efficacy have been demonstrated in multiple tumor cells and models.  It is expected to deliver a direct killing to CD70-overexpressing tumor and improvement of the immune suppression in the tumor microenvironment.

About NovoCodex

NovoCodex is a majority owned company of Zhejiang Medicine Co., Ltd. (stock code: SH.600216), mainly committed to the research and development of biological products. The company's laboratory has experience and capabilities in genetic engineering, cell culture, toxin synthesis, conjugation, formulation & filling, preclinical study and clinical study. ARX788 project has been successfully advanced to the later stage of Phase 1 clinical trial in China. For additional information, visit http://www.novocodex.cn/

Contact: Amy Conrad, (858) 366-3243, [email protected]

SOURCE Ambrx Inc.

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