Astellas and Sutro Ink Collaboration and Licensing Deal Over iADCs

Astellas and Sutro Biopharma have inked a collaboration and licensing agreement that focuses on the discovery and development of novel immunostimulatory antibody-drug conjugates (iADCs).

The collaboration is intended to combine Astellas’ oncology research and development expertise with Sutro’s ability to engineer complex conjugated antibodies.

The iADCs are designed to deliver two drugs directly to a tumor, to kill the cancer cells and also prime a response from the immune system.

Sutro will receive an upfront payment of $90 million to develop iADCs for three biological targets and it is also eligible to receive more than $422 million in milestone payment for each product candidate, plus royalties.