Syndivia, a biotechnology company focused on the development of new therapeutic modalities for solid cancers based on a specific targeting of the tumour microenvironment and anatomical hallmarks, announced that it has been granted an exclusive, worldwide license by SATT Conectus for a technology (DARx) that opens access to a wide range of previously inaccessible biologics formats, such as antibody–drug, antibody–oligonucleotide, and antibody–interleukin conjugates with a defined degree of conjugation of 1. This minimum possible degree of conjugation was found to have important advantages for addressing solid cancer indications in vivo. The development of this technology for both therapeutic and diagnostics applications will be carried out by Syndivia in Strasbourg, France.

Commenting on this news, Dr Sasha Koniev, Syndivia's CEO, said, "The unique feature of DARx is that it allows us to readily link in a straightforward way any off-the-shelf antibody with virtually any payload to generate 1-to-1 immunoconjugates. The results we have obtained to date in the ADC and AOC domains look very promising, namely in in vivo models of highly heterogenic solid tumours."

Caroline Dreyer, Conectus' CEO, shares that enthusiasm: "Cutting-edge academic research has been the cornerstone of Syndivia's success story thanks to the scientific excellence of the BioFunctional Chemistry (BFC) team at the CNRS/Université de Strasbourg led by Alain Wagner and with the support of Conectus. Today, Syndivia is expanding its capabilities with this new enabling technology. Conectus has once again demonstrated the relevance of its investment in the proof-of-concept of DARx technology, showcasing its broad application scope. After a first technology transfer at Syndivia's inception, this new license also illustrates the virtuous circle of our collaborative co-conception model, whereby the BFC team, Syndivia, and Conectus work jointly and as a result can create economic and innovative momentum."

Syndivia will undertake further development of the technology and the resulting drug candidates in exchange for undisclosed upfront and milestone payments to Conectus.