Two powerhouses of the European biopharma sector are joining forces. Under a multiyear, cost-sharing alliance, argenx and Genmab are opening their suites of antibody technologies to each other to jointly go after cancer and immunology targets.
Argenx and Genmab are two of the breakthrough European drug developers of recent years. Genmab put itself on the map with Darzalex, the CD38 oncology antibody that partner Johnson & Johnson grew into a blockbuster, and has two co-developed, co-commercialized drugs, Tivdak and epcoritamab, that are on or near the market. Argenx made the autoimmune drug Vyvgart, sales of which hit $401 million in 2022 and could grow significantly in the coming years.
After running in parallel for years, the two biotechs have now decided to join forces to expand outside of their traditional areas of focus. The collaboration is initially focused on two “differentiated” targets, one in cancer, another in immunology, but there is scope to expand the alliance down the line.
Argenx and Genmab, biotechs with a combined market cap of almost $50 billion, will jointly discover, develop and commercialize products emerging from the pact, splitting costs and profits down the middle. Each biotech will have access to the other’s suite of antibody technologies.
The selection of one cancer and one immunology target makes the deal an opportunity for both biotechs to move into new areas. Genmab has supported programs that delivered drugs outside of oncology before—it had a hand in the development of Novartis’ multiple sclerosis therapy Kesimpta and Horizon’s thyroid eye disease treatment Tepezza—but its proprietary pipeline is focused squarely on cancer.
Similarly, argenx has dabbled in oncology, notably when its preclinical GARP program landed it a deal with AbbVie, but it has mostly applied its immunology expertise to therapeutic areas such as neurology and hematology. Oncology indications are absent from the pipeline, which is heavily focused on getting the most out of efgartigimod, the anti-FcRn antibody fragment found in Vyvgart.
Partnering presents both biotechs with a way to break new ground. In a statement, Genmab CEO Jan van de Winkel, Ph.D., framed the expansion into immunology and inflammation as a way to meet the goal that by 2030 the biotech’s antibodies will be “fundamentally transforming the lives of people with cancer and other serious diseases.”