American biopharmaceutical company Athenex has formed collaborations with Chinese Xiangxue Life Sciences and Hong Kong-based Avalon PolyTom to expand its pipeline for treating cancer.

The alliance with Xiangxue Life Sciences involves the formation of a joint venture (JV) to carry out research, development and commercialisation of a cancer immunotherapy technology called T-cell receptor-engineered T cells (TCR-T).

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

The Axis Therapeutics JV will be 55% owned by Athenex while Xiangxue will own the remaining 45% stake.

The new company has licensed the global (excluding mainland China) rights of Xiangxue’s TCR-T immunotherapy technology, subject to certain closing conditions and approvals.

“We have developed a business strategy to fully explore the potential of all these platforms.”

Athenex will subsequently issue $5m worth of its common stock as an upfront payment to Xiangxue, and Axis Therapeutics will pay $110m in multiple clinical and regulatory milestones.

Through the second partnership, Athenex has in-licensed worldwide rights to a pegylated genetically modified human arginase or Pegtomarginase from Avalon PolyTom.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Originally developed by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Pegtomarginase is said to feature an anti-cancer mechanism that targets tumour cells deficit in ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) and/or argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS) enzymes.

Athenex chairman and CEO Johnson Lau said: “The additions of TCR-T based cancer immunotherapy in collaboration with our long-term business partner, Xiangxue Pharmaceutical and its subsidiary Xiangxue Life Sciences, and of an anti-cancer biologic will further complement and enhance our Oncology Innovation Platform.

“We are particularly excited about the potential synergies that can be created between the new therapies and our existing pipeline. We have developed a business strategy to fully explore the potential of all these platforms.”

Athenex also secured a $100m strategic investment from investment manager Perceptive Advisors to support its operations and development, including pipeline expansion activities.