XOMA Royalty Corporation has acquired BioInvent International's future royalty and milestone rights to mezagitamab (TAK-079) for up to $30 million, strengthening its position in the promising anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody as it advances through Phase 3 clinical development under Takeda's stewardship.
The biotechnology royalty aggregator paid $20 million upfront to BioInvent at closing on May 27, 2025, with an additional $10 million contingent upon mezagitamab achieving FDA marketing approval for IgA nephropathy. The transaction builds upon XOMA's existing economic interest in the therapeutic candidate, which originated from a 2003 cross-licensing agreement covering XOMA's legacy bacterial protein expression technology and BioInvent's n-CoDeR antibody library.
Enhanced Portfolio Position
"This transaction further builds the potential of XOMA Royalty's late-stage royalty portfolio by increasing our economics in a promising Phase 3 program already in our portfolio," stated Brad Sitko, Chief Investment Officer of XOMA Royalty. The company noted its appreciation for the longstanding relationship with BioInvent stemming from XOMA's legacy technology that gave rise to mezagitamab.
With the newly acquired economics from BioInvent combined with its existing entitlement, XOMA Royalty will be entitled to milestones of up to $16.25 million from Takeda and mid-single digit royalties on future mezagitamab commercial sales.
Mezagitamab's Clinical Development
Mezagitamab represents a fully human immunoglobulin IgG1 monoclonal antibody with high affinity for CD38 expressing cells, including plasmablasts, plasma cells, and natural killer cells, resulting in their depletion. According to Takeda's development materials, the therapeutic has the potential of becoming the best-in-class anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody.
In its Fiscal Year 2024 financial results, Takeda announced it has initiated a Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), marking a significant advancement in the drug's clinical development program.
Strategic Value for BioInvent
For BioInvent, the transaction provides crucial non-dilutive capital while validating the value of its proprietary technology platform. Martin Welschof, Chief Executive Officer of BioInvent, emphasized that the announcement highlights the value of the company's n-CoDeR platform, which has led to the identification of multiple promising therapeutic antibody drug candidates, many of which are now in mid-to late-stage clinical trials.
"As well as reflecting XOMA Royalty's expanded interest in mezagitamab, this transaction supports our strategy of creating value via partnerships and gives us a non-dilutive capital injection that bolsters our balance sheet so that we can continue to focus on advancing our own clinical drug development programs," Welschof stated.
Technology Platform Success
BioInvent's n-CoDeR platform has demonstrated its capability in generating promising immune-modulatory candidates to fuel the company's clinical development pipeline. The clinical-stage biotech company currently has five drug candidates in six ongoing clinical programs in Phase 1/2 trials for the treatment of hematological cancer and solid tumors.
The company's validated, proprietary F.I.R.S.T technology platform identifies both targets and the antibodies that bind to them, providing licensing and partnering opportunities while generating revenues from research collaborations and license agreements with multiple top-tier pharmaceutical companies.
