Lilly makes another ADC play, buying Mablink

Eli Lilly has agreed a deal to acquire French antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) specialist Mablink, continuing a series of transactions that build its position in what has become one of the fastest-growing therapeutic classes in oncology.

ADCs consist of an antibody targeting an antigen on cancer cells joined to a cytotoxic drug molecule, and are designed to boost the efficacy against tumours whilst reducing off-target side effects.

Lyon-based Mablink is developing ADCs based on a proprietary linker technology, called PSARLink, which is designed to mask the cytotoxic payload carried by the drug molecules, reducing the chances that it will be released early.

The PSARLink molecule cordons off hydrophobic areas of cytotoxic drugs that can affect the properties of the antibody carrier, thereby preventing the drug molecule from breaking apart prematurely and causing toxicity, something that plagued the development of early ADC candidates.

Mablink’s ADCs have shown a higher therapeutic index in animal models, according to the company. Preclinical results with its lead candidate MBK-103, targeting the folate alpha receptor (FOLR1), were reported at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) meeting in March.

The financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed, and it still needs to be approved by France’s Ministry of the Economy before it can go ahead.

In a statement, Mablink’s chief executive Jean-Guillaume Lafay (pictured top) said Lilly’s offer is “a strong endorsement of our approach, our technology and our team.” The company was founded in 2021 with seed funding from Elaia Partners and raised €31 million ($33 million) in a Series A round last year led by Sofinnova and Merieux Equity Partners.

For Lilly, the agreement comes a couple of months after it completed a takeover of German ADC specialist Emergence Therapeutics and its lead candidate ETX-22 – a nectin-4-targeting drug that would compete with Seagen’s Padcev (enfortumab vedotin) – in a deal estimated by analysts to be worth upwards of $700 million.

Last year, it also revived a collaboration with ImmunoGen, more than a decade after backing away from a relationship, to claim an interest in its camptothecin payload technology. That deal included a $13 million upfront fee and a total value of up to $1.7 billion.

Lilly has been on a particularly acquisitive spree this year, making a $1.4 billion offer to buy radiopharma specialist POINT Biopharma earlier this month, and absorbing obesity drug developer Versanis Bio, cell therapy player Sigilon Therapeutics and immunology specialist DICE Therapeutics in deals worth $1.9 billion, $310 million and $2.4 billion, respectively.