Mabwell and Disc Medicine Enter Exclusive Licensing Agreement for Hematologic Disease Therapeutics

Chinese biotech Mabwell said its wholly owned subsidiary Mabwell Therapeutics has entered into an agreement with Disc Medicine in which Disc will obtain exclusive rights to develop and commercialize three of its portfolio candidates that target iron homeostasis in rare blood disorders in the United States, Europe, and other territories outside of Great China and Southeast Asia. 

Photo: John Quisel, president and CEO of Disc

“We’ve been expanding global business actively,” said Datao Liu, co-founder and CEO of Mabwell, “and Disc has rich clinical and preclinical experience in the field of hematological diseases. It will further accelerate the clinical progress of this variety in the world and fulfilling unmet clinical need for patients of hematologic diseases.”

Mabwell says the proposed indications of the candidates, MWTX-001, MWTX-002, and MWTX-003, also known as 9MW3011, include a variety of diseases classified as rare in different regions of the world, such as β-thalassemia and polycythemia vera. There are no mature and effective macromolecular drugs for the relevant indications so far. 9MW3011 is expected to be qualified as an orphan drug in the future and become the first-in-class macromolecular drug to regulate iron homeostasis in vivo.

Under the terms of the agreement, Disc will obtain exclusive rights to develop and commercialize 9MW3011 discovered by Mabwell, in the United States, Europe, and other territories outside of Great China and Southeast Asia. Mabwell is eligible for a total of up to $412.5 million in upfront and milestone payments, and royalties of close to two digit percentages of net sales of licensed products, of which Disc will pay a one-time non-refundable down payment of $10 million to Mabwell. 9MW3011 has been approved by Chinese and U.S. regulatory authorities to carry out clinical trials in China and the United States respectively.

“Disc has built deep expertise in the role of iron homeostasis in hematologic disorders,” said John Quisel, president and CEO of Disc. “This program is in perfect alignment with our strategy.”

Author: Rare Daily Staff