Products
XmAb™ Antibody Therapeutics
Antibodies are proteins that direct the immune system to a specific molecular target in the body. Because they are so specific for their targets, antibodies are not only potent, but may offer an improved safety margin over existing small molecules treatments for cancer and other diseases. Several new anti-tumor antibodies are enabling physicians to make important strides in the treatment of lymphoma, leukemia, colon, and breast cancer. More than 200 new antibodies are currently under development for an even broader range of oncology indications, driving unprecedented growth of the antibody market.
Unfortunately a large fraction of patients have tumors that fail to respond to even the best antibody drugs on the market today. To address this need, Xencor is developing a portfolio of unique second-generation XmAb™ antibody candidates with significantly increased tumor killing power using our XmAb™ Fc technology. Our first antibody candidate is in Phase I clinical testing for Hodgkin lymphoma and T cell lymphomas and targets CD30, an antigen expressed in various hematologic malignancies. Antibody candidates that we have in pre-clinical development include XmAb™ 5574 and XmAb™ 5483, targeting the antigens CD19 and CD40, respectively, for the treatment of B cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases. We also have XmAb™5871, which dual-targets CD32b and CD19 using a novel Fc domain that engages the CD32b receptor, in pre-clinical development for autoimmune diseases.
In addition to developing a rich internal pipeline of antibody drug candidates, Xencor partners with biotechnology companies like Genentech to engineer second-generation candidates of clinically successful antibody drugs. We work with our partners to improve existing drugs by applying one of several types of patented XmAb™ Fc domains, a product we developed using our PDA® technology, to improve the efficacy of nearly any monoclonal antibody. In our XmAb™ partnership agreements, Xencor has received upfront payments and is eligible to receive milestones and royalties based on successful commercialization of antibody products.