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Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images This morning, investors in privately-held Dragonfly Therapeutics are thankful after Merck opted to license its second TriNKET immunotherapy candidate from the Waltham, Mass.-based company. The option came one year after the pharma giant licensed its first immunotherapy candidate. Bill Haney, co-founder and chief executive officer of Dragonfly, shared his excitement about Merck’s decision to license the second immunotherapy asset. Haney touted Merck’s drug development prowess and noted that the company is a “strong scientific collaborator.” “We are delighted that Merck has now exercised its option for this second immunotherapy candidate from our initial collaboration, and excited by the progress we are making together on bringing Dragonfly’s TriNKET technology to targets across a broader set of diseases,” Haney said in a statement. Dragonfly’s TriNKET (Tri-specific, NK cell Engager Therapies) bind to the proteins expressed on cancer cells and NK cells. According to the company, the TriNKET system provides “an active connection between cancer cells, and cells of the immune system including NK cells themselves, T cells, B cells, and other cells that help attack and kill cancer.” NK cells are part of the natural immune system. Dragonfly said its TriNKET system stimulates NK cells, which makes them aware of cancerous cells and signals the NK cells to kill the cancer cells and notify other immune cells to attack the tumor. Merck and Dragonfly first partnered in 2018. Merck struck a deal valued at $695 million to license Dragonfly’s TriNKET technology platform for several solid-tumor programs. At the time the deal was struck, Merck expressed excitement about the potential of harnessing NK cells to fight cancer. The partnership has gone so well that last year, the two companies expanded the collaboration with a multi-target agreement to develop additional NK cell engager immunotherapies in oncology, infectious disease, and immune disorders. When Merck exercised its option, Dragonfly received an undisclosed milestone payment. Dragonfly is certainly no stranger to working with larger pharmaceutical companies. In addition to Merck, the company has partnered with Bristol Myers Squibb and AbbVie. In 2017, Dragonfly struck a five-year agreement with Celgene to develop immuno-oncology therapeutics for hematological cancers based on Dragonfly’s TriNKET technology platform. That agreement transferred to BMS after it acquired Celgene and the fruits of that partnership are continuing for both companies. Last month, BMS licensed its sixth asset from Dragonfly, and the pharma giant initiated Phase I trials with both the CC-96191 and CC-92328 investigational immunotherapies it gained from the licensing deal. Since their original 2017 collaboration focusing on hematology malignancies, Dragonfly and BMS have agreed to two additional collaborations, including oncology and neuroinflammation targets. Last year, BMS licensed Dragonfly’s interleukin-12 (IL-12) investigational immunotherapy program, including its extended half-life cytokine DF6002. These are seen as potential treatments for solid and hematological cancers. In 2019, AbbVie and Dragonfly teamed up to tackle autoimmune and oncology indications. Dragonfly’s novel NK cell engager-based immunotherapies are at the center of that partnership.

WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc. ("Dragonfly" or the "Company"), today announced that Bristol Myers Squibb ("BMS") has licensed its fourth TriNKET™ immunotherapy drug candidate from Dragonfly. Since the original 2017 collaboration focusing on hematology malignancies, the companies have agreed two additional collaborations across solid tumors, and autoimmune disease. "We are impressed with the quality of candidates developed using Dragonfly's TriNKET™ technology," said Rupert Vessey, FRCP, DPhil, President of Research and Early Development, Bristol Myers Squibb. "In just three years, Dragonfly delivered four drug candidates to BMS, a remarkable pace of development. During that time, we have assessed Dragonfly's TriNKET™ drug candidates in both cancer and autoimmune indications, and have built three collaborations together. We continue to be encouraged by the potential treatment options for patients offered by harnessing the power of NK cells." "We have had a very productive collaboration with BMS and are pleased with both the speed of our development efforts and the continuing validation of our platform that this opt-in decision by BMS represents," said Dragonfly CEO Bill Haney. "As we advance our internal programs, including our clinical stage TriNKET DF-1001 and IL12 cytokine DF-6002, we look forward to strong continued collaboration with BMS to bring potential new NK-cell based treatment options to patients with cancer, autoimmune disease, and neurological conditions." About Dragonfly Dragonfly Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing therapies that use its novel bispecific antibody technology to harness the body's innate immune system to bring breakthrough treatments to patients. Dragonfly has a deep pipeline of wholly owned preclinical candidates discovered using its platform that are progressing toward the clinic, as well as productive collaborations with BMS, Merck, and Abbvie in a broad range of disease areas. For more information visit: DRAGONFLY MEDIA CONTACT: Anne E. Deconinck | [email protected] SOURCE Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc. Related Links