Numab Therapeutics AG, a clinical stage biotechnology company advancing a proprietary pipeline of multi-specific antibodies in immunology and oncology, and Kaken Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., an R&D driven pharmaceutical company in Japan, announced a new collaboration and option agreement to develop ND081, a potential first-in-class multi-specific antibody for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Under the terms of the agreement, Kaken has obtained an option to acquire commercial rights to ND081 for certain key Asian territories in exchange for funding preclinical and clinical development up to Phase 2a proof of concept. Numab will receive approximately CHF 13 million as an upfront payment and will be the main executing party of preclinical and clinical development.

“We are joining forces with Kaken to advance one of our multi-specific programs to the clinic as a continuation of our regional partnering strategy aimed at utilizing Numab’s unique proprietary λ-Cap^TM and MATCH^TM technology platforms,” said David Urech, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Numab Therapeutics.

“This partnership in IBD represents a validated approach for both Numab and Kaken and is built out of a strong relationship that we established from our prior collaboration on NM26, an investigational first-in-class bi-specific antibody for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, which led to an asset spin out into Yellow Jersey Therapeutics and its subsequent acquisition by Johnson & Johnson for $1.25 billion in May 2024” adds David Urech.

“By leveraging our research and development capabilities and Numab's unique expertise in multi-specifics, we will do our utmost to develop innovative new drugs for IBD,” said Hiroyuki Horiuchi, President and Representative Director of Kaken Pharmaceutical.