Pinetree Therapeutics, a biotechnology firm focused on developing targeted protein degraders (TPD) to combat drug resistance in oncology treatment, announced it has entered into an exclusive option and global license agreement with AstraZeneca for a preclinical EGFR degrader candidate.
Through this deal, AstraZeneca will be able to exclusively license Pinetree’s preclinical EGFR degrader for worldwide development and marketing. In exchange, Pinetree will receive upfront and near-term cash payments of up to $45M, plus development and commercialization milestones. Should Pinetree contribute to further development and/or commercialization of the compounds, the total value could exceed $500M, plus escalating royalties on net sales worldwide.
Dr. Hojuhn Song, Founder & CEO of Pinetree, expressed excitement about partnering with AstraZeneca, particularly with their pan-EGFR degrader. This degrader was derived from Pinetree’s AbReptor™ platform and has demonstrated potent preclinical anti-tumor activity, especially on drug/TKI-resistant tumors, and has been noted to improve the efficacy of initial EGFR inhibitors. Similarly, AstraZeneca’s Puja Sapra, Senior Vice President of Oncology Targeted Discovery, described TPD as an exciting therapeutic strategy and expressed interest in examining Pinetree’s pan-EGFR degrader in EGFR-positive tumors, including EGFR-mutant ones.
Pinetree has been funding the development of its AbReptor™ TPD platform for the delivery of drugs to both membrane-bound and extracellular proteins for new products oriented toward the treatment of multi-drug resistant oncology. Since its inception, Pinetree has been steadily advancing its preclinical candidates and recently announced it raised $23.5M in a Series A1 funding round in June 2022, with participation from InterVest, SK Securities, DSC Investment, J Curve Investment, Samho Green Investment, and SJ Investment Partners. Dr. Song, the former project team leader at Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, is managing the advancement of Pinetree’s latest therapeutic candidates.
AstraZeneca has been prominent in the typification of the EGFR gene through its formidable cancer medication known as Tagrisso, emphasizing its competitive interest in Pinetree’s preclinical EGFR degrader. Tagrisso has received widespread approval in NSCLC with EGFR mutations, and AstraZeneca intends to leverage this experience to develop Pinetree’s therapy for EGFR-positive tumors with or without EGFR mutations.
Pinetree is advancing a number of preclinical assets from its AbReptor™ TPD platform for use in oncology and several related therapeutic indications. This collaboration with AstraZeneca is an important step in Pinetree’s journey to deploying additional radical innovation-based approaches to address drug resistance in cancers and other diseases.
