Bristol Myers Squibb licenses Lonza ADC platform for undisclosed oncology target

Lonza, a Switzerland-headquartered contract development and manufacturing organization, and drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) announced an exclusive single-target licensing agreement that gives BMS access to Lonza’s SYNtecan linker-payload platform to develop an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) against an undisclosed target.

Under the agreement, BMS will be responsible for research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of the ADC candidate. Lonza, through one of its affiliations, said it will be eligible for upfront payments, milestone payments, and royalties tied to potential product sales.

The deal also includes access to Lonza’s GlycoConnect and HydraSpace technologies, which are designed to support site-specific ADC development.

The agreement follows additional investment by Lonza in its ADC and bioconjugates capabilities. In February, the company integrated its Synaffix ADC platform into its advanced synthesis offering at its Oss, Netherlands, site, expanding support for early-phase ADC development and manufacturing. The platform includes antibody conjugation, polar spacer, and linker-payload technologies, and was recently expanded with dual-payload ADC capabilities intended to address tumor heterogeneity and drug resistance.

Earlier this year, Lonza’s Synaffix signed a multi-target licensing agreement with Sidewinder Therapeutics to support development of bispecific ADCs for solid tumors using its site-specific conjugation and linker-payload technologies.

BMS has also continued expanding manufacturing partnerships tied to advanced therapies. In February, Oxford Biomedica Solutions announced a multi-year commercial supply agreement with BMS to manufacture lentiviral vectors for the company’s CAR-T programs at facilities in Oxford, UK, and Durham, North Carolina. 

The company also extended its collaboration with Syngene International through 2035, expanding integrated services supporting drug development from discovery through commercialization.