BioAtla and BeiGene Form Worldwide Collaboration To Develop And Commercialize Novel Conditionally Active Biologic CTLA-4 Therapy

BioAtla ^®, LLC, a global clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologic (CAB) protein therapeutics, and BeiGene, Ltd. (Nasdaq: BGNE; HKEX: 06160), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative molecularly-targeted and immuno-oncology drugs for the treatment of cancer, today announced that the two companies have entered into a global co-development and collaboration agreement for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of BioAtla’s investigational CAB CTLA-4 antibody (BA3071). BA3071 is a novel, CTLA-4 inhibitor that is designed to be conditionally activated in the tumor microenvironment in order to reduce systemic toxicity and potentially enable safer combinations with checkpoint inhibitors such as BeiGene’s investigational anti-PD-1 antibody, tislelizumab, a humanized IgG4 anti–PD-1 monoclonal antibody specifically designed to minimize binding to FcγR on macrophages.

Under the terms of the collaboration, BioAtla will co-develop the CAB-CTLA-4 antibody to defined early clinical objectives and BeiGene will then lead the parties’ joint efforts to develop the product candidate and be responsible for global regulatory filings and commercialization. Subject to the terms of the agreement, BeiGene will hold a co-exclusive license with BioAtla to develop and manufacture the product candidate globally and an exclusive license to commercialize the product candidate globally. BeiGene will be responsible for all costs of development, manufacturing and commercialization in Asia (ex-Japan), Australia and New Zealand, and the parties will share development and manufacturing costs and commercial profits and losses upon specified terms in the rest of the world. BioAtla will receive an upfront payment of $20 million and a milestone payment upon reaching the defined early clinical objectives. BioAtla is also eligible to receive up to $249 million in subsequent development and regulatory milestones globally and commercial milestones in the BeiGene territory, together with tiered royalties on sales in the BeiGene territory. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“BeiGene is a recognized leader in China-inclusive global clinical development, with broad oncology clinical programs, which include tislelizumab,” said Scott Smith, President of BioAtla. “This collaboration complements our strategy of building our pipeline of innovative CAB oncology candidates, advancing combination product therapies, and effectively addressing markets with strong growth potential and high unmet medical need.”

“BioAtla has developed an exciting proprietary protein discovery and expression platform to generate CABs, which in turn have been applied to BA3071, a novel, investigational CTLA-4 inhibitor that is designed to be conditionally activated in the tumor microenvironment,” commented Dr. Lai Wang, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific Clinical Development, Global Research, Clinical Operations and Biometrics, for BeiGene. “The unique nature of BA3071 provides an exciting opportunity to combine this CTLA-4 antibody with our anti-PD-1 antibody, tislelizumab. We look forward to working with BioAtla through proof-of-concept, followed by global development of this potentially unique cancer therapy as a single agent or in combination with other therapies.”

“We believe that our collaboration with BeiGene will accelerate the global development and potential commercialization of BA3071 and advance the prospects and potential of safer and more effective combination therapies for the treatment of several cancer indications,” stated Jay M. Short, Ph.D., Chairman, CEO and co-founder of BioAtla. “The application of BioAtla’s CAB technology to CTLA-4 inhibition may offer greater potency and safety, thereby improving this important cancer therapy and expanding its potential applications.” – Globe News Wire