Genmab Acquires ProfoundBio for $1.8 Billion to Challenge AbbVie’s Elahere in ADC Market

1. Genmab has completed a $1.8 billion buyout of ProfoundBio, positioning itself as a competitor to AbbVie's Elahere in the Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) market.
2. ProfoundBio's lead drug candidate, Rina-S, is a midphase ADC designed to deliver a topoisomerase-1 (Topo1) inhibitor to cells expressing folate receptor alpha (FRα).
3. FRα is overexpressed in ovarian cancer and other solid tumors, attracting attention from various companies like Bio-Thera Solutions, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eisai, ImmunoGen, and Sutro Biopharma.
4. ImmunoGen received accelerated approval for their FRα drug, Elahere, in 2022, and AbbVie subsequently acquired ImmunoGen for $10.1 billion.
5. Genmab believes Rina-S has potential to be a best-in-class asset and is investing heavily in this belief.
6. Rina-S consists of a monoclonal antibody, a novel cleavable hydrophilic linker, and a Topo1 payload called exatecan.
7. ProfoundBio is currently conducting the second part of a phase 1/2 clinical trial for Rina-S in ovarian cancer and other FRα-expressing tumors.
8. Genmab also gains control of other ProfoundBio candidates, including ADCs targeting CD70 and PTK7, as well as a bispecific ADC that hits EGFR and cMET.
9. The acquisition represents a shift in Genmab's strategy towards acquiring drug candidates rather than just tools and components for research and discovery.