GSK and Syndivia have announced an agreement granting GSK exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialise a pre-clinical ADC for mCRPC.

Approximately 1.4 million men worldwide are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and approximately 10-20 percent develop advanced disease, castration resistance with metastases, within five years. For patients whose cancer has advanced to mCRPC, targeted treatment options are limited, and standard of care options may be difficult to access in community practice settings, and can be poorly tolerated with modest efficacy outcomes. Survival rates for these patients are low, with a five-year survival rate of approximately 30 percent and a median survival of approximately two years.

The novel ADC, which utilises Syndivia’s next-generation GeminiMab conjugation technology, has shown enhanced anti-tumour activity and an encouraging safety profile, demonstrating the best-in-class potential. In pre-clinical studies, the ADC was effective at shrinking tumours without causing a proportional increase in significant side effects, even at higher doses. This ADC could provide a targeted treatment directly to the tumour, currently a gap in available therapies, along with a more easily accessible treatment in the community practice setting for mCRPC.

Hesham Abdullah, Senior Vice President, Global Head Oncology, R&D, GSK said, “Prostate cancer represents a significant health burden and an emerging area of growth for GSK, where targeted therapies are urgently needed in metastatic castration-resistant settings. The addition of this ADC builds on GSK's growing portfolio and strengths in tumour-targeted technologies, including GSK’227, our B7-H3-targeting ADC.”

GSK is developing an innovative pipeline that spans ADCs with distinct antigens and payloads, next-generation small molecules, and T-cell engagers. These diverse approaches, such as GSK’227 and this novel ADC, enable GSK to advance potential therapeutic options across various stages and types of prostate cancer.

Sasha Koniev, Chief Executive Officer, Syndivia, said, “We are proud that GSK will advance this programme on a global scale. This agreement underscores the value of our GeminiMab ADC platform and the opportunity to bring a promising new therapy to patients with pressing unmet medical needs.”