November 01, 2022 04:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time – ALAMEDA, Calif. & NEW HAVEN, Conn.–Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) and Cybrexa Therapeutics (Cybrexa)，invested and incubated by Viva BioInnovator, announced that the companies have entered into an exclusive collaboration agreement providing Exelixis the right to acquire CBX-12 (alphalex exatecan), a clinical-stage, first-in-class peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) that utilizes Cybrexa’s proprietary alphalex technology to enhance delivery of exatecan to tumor cells. CBX-12 is designed to increase the efficacy and reduce the toxicity of topoisomerase I inhibition by delivering exatecan, a highly potent, second-generation topoisomerase I inhibitor, directly to the tumor cells. This collaboration underscores Exelixis’ commitment to expanding its clinical pipeline building upon its biotherapeutics and targeted drug therapy expertise.
CBX-12 is composed of a pH-Low Insertion Peptide (pHLIP®), a linker and exatecan. As an antigen-independent therapy, CBX-12 may have broad utility in patients who are not eligible for antigen-targeted therapies, including monoclonal antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and has potential for use in combination regimens with other anti-cancer agents and immunotherapies. Data from the ongoing phase 1 trial of CBX-12 in patients with metastatic solid tumors, reported in an oral presentation during a plenary session at the EORTC-NCI-AACR (ENA) 2022 Symposium on October 28, 2022, demonstrated preliminary anti-tumor activity in a heavily pretreated patient population. This included a complete response in a patient with ovarian cancer.
Cybrexa’s proprietary alphalex technology is designed to increase the therapeutic index of potent anti-cancer compounds by targeting their delivery to tumor cells, thus reducing systemic exposure and thereby reducing toxicity. Importantly, this targeting is achieved through an antigen-independent mechanism, making the alphalex technology potentially applicable to diverse tumor types and providing a complementary approach to traditional ADCs. The alphalex technology platform utilizes pHLIPs combined with a linker to deliver anti-cancer compounds directly to tumor cells. In the acidic (low pH) tumor microenvironment, the pHLIP forms an alpha-helical structure that inserts itself into and across the tumor cell membrane. It is well established that many tumors have an altered metabolism that results in excretion of lactic acid into the tumor microenvironment, thereby reducing the local pH. The linker is cleaved within the cell, releasing the anti-cancer agent into the cell’s cytoplasm. The alpha-helical structure of the peptide (pHLIP) does not form in the physiologic pH surrounding normal cells, preventing delivery to these cells and reducing toxicity.
“Cybrexa is focused on developing the next generation of cancer therapeutics that specifically target tumors and their underlying biology,” said Per Hellsund, President & CEO, Cybrexa. “With its expanding portfolio of biotherapeutics, including ADCs, Exelixis and its partner network have significant and expanding expertise in PDC chemistries and development. Our alphalex PDC technology is an important complement to ADCs and other targeted therapies, and we are excited to bring Exelixis’ insights and resources to the development of CBX-12.”
Financial Considerations
Under the terms of the agreement, Exelixis will pay Cybrexa an upfront fee of $60 million in exchange for the right to acquire CBX-12 pending certain Phase 1 results and to fund certain development and manufacturing expenses incurred by Cybrexa to advance an agreed development plan. Cybrexa may also be eligible to receive up to an additional $642.5 million, including development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, as well as a fee for the acquisition of CBX-12 upon evaluation of a pre-specified clinical data package.
Please see Exelixis’ disclosure in today’s Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for additional details of the terms of the collaboration agreement.
About the alphalex™ Technology Platform
The Cybrexa alphalex™ technology is a novel antigen-independent peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) platform that enables targeted delivery of highly potent anticancer treatments and aims to revolutionize the standard of care in oncology. The platform consists of a pH-Low Insertion Peptides (pHLIPs®) peptide, linker, and small molecule anti-cancer agent. pHLIP peptides are a family of pH-Low Insertion Peptides that target acidic cell surfaces. pHLIP was developed at Yale University and the University of Rhode Island, and is exclusively licensed to pHLIP, Inc., and Cybrexa is a sublicensee of pHLIP, Inc.
About Cybrexa
Cybrexa is a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering novel antigen-independent tumor-targeting peptide drug conjugate (PDC) therapeutics. The company is led by a dynamic team of highly successful life science entrepreneurs and veteran drug development scientists. Cybrexa investors include Advantage Capital Connecticut, Connecticut Innovations, Elm Street Ventures and HighCape Capital. It is on a mission to create therapeutics that revolutionize the standard of care in oncology. Cybrexa’s robust pipeline aims to combat breast, ovarian, non-small cell lung cancer and a range of other tumors. Its assets are built on Cybrexa’s alphalex™ technology platform, which enables intracellular delivery of highly potent anticancer treatments. Cybrexa is based in New Haven, Conn. and was founded in 2017. For more information about Cybrexa, please visit www.cybrexa.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About Exelixis
Founded in 1994, Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) is a commercially successful, oncology-focused biotechnology company that strives to accelerate the discovery, development and commercialization of new medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers. Following early work in model system genetics, we established a broad drug discovery and development platform that has served as the foundation for our continued efforts to bring new cancer therapies to patients in need. Our discovery efforts have resulted in four commercially available products, CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib), COMETRIQ® (cabozantinib), COTELLIC® (cobimetinib) and MINNEBRO® (esaxerenone), and we have entered into partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies to bring these important medicines to patients worldwide. Supported by revenues from our marketed products and collaborations, we are committed to prudently reinvesting in our business to maximize the potential of our pipeline. We are supplementing our existing therapeutic assets with targeted business development activities and internal drug discovery — all to deliver the next generation of Exelixis medicines and help patients recover stronger and live longer. Exelixis is a member of the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) MidCap 400 index, which measures the performance of profitable mid-sized companies. For more information about Exelixis, please visit www.exelixis.com.
