TegMine Therapeutics has announced a strategic research and development collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to advance novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapeutics using the company's proprietary 2-Factor Antibody System. The partnership aims to develop more selective and better-tolerated cancer treatments by targeting previously inaccessible tumor-associated antigens.
Targeting Tumor-Specific Glycan Biology
The collaboration leverages TegMine's TegMiner™ platform, which discovers novel, tumor-specific glycan epitopes that conventional approaches cannot detect. The company's 2-Factor Antibody System requires dual glycan/protein-based recognition to achieve what the company describes as unprecedented specificity and enhanced efficacy, with the goal of reducing on-target, off-tumor toxicity for improved patient safety.
"At TegMine, we are exploiting the unique biology of tumor-associated glycans, molecular signatures that are highly prevalent in aggressive solid tumors yet largely absent in healthy tissues," said Jeff Bernstein, Ph.D., CEO of TegMine. "This collaboration endorses our approach, and specifically our 2-Factor Antibody System, which unlocks specific tumor-associated antigens and targets that were previously inaccessible with other technologies."
Collaboration Structure and Financial Terms
The partnership is centered on an initial program targeting a clinically validated antigen, with the potential to expand to two additional targets. Under the agreement terms, TegMine will receive an upfront payment and research funding per target, as well as a target option fee for each selected additional target. The company is also eligible to receive preclinical, clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones, along with royalties on net sales for any potential products developed under the collaboration. Exact financial terms remain undisclosed.
Boehringer Ingelheim has secured global development and commercial rights for each target generated during the collaboration, positioning the pharmaceutical giant to advance the resulting ADC candidates through clinical development and potential commercialization.
Platform Technology and Therapeutic Approach
TegMine's approach focuses on targeting highly expressed glycans that drive cancer aggressiveness and immune evasion. The company's mission centers on identifying unique tumor antigens that are consistently prevalent across tumors while being largely absent from healthy tissues. This targeting strategy represents an attempt to address one of the key challenges in ADC development: achieving sufficient tumor selectivity to minimize toxicity in normal tissues.
The 2-Factor Antibody System's requirement for dual recognition—both glycan and protein components—is designed to deliver enhanced therapeutic precision compared to conventional antibody approaches that rely on single-target recognition.
