One of the hotter areas of cancer drug research involves using a particular type of bispecific antibody as the backbone for therapeutic combinations intended to bring a multi-pronged attack to tumors. Crescent Biopharma has one such bispecific antibody in its pipeline. A new partnership with Kelun-Biotech gives Crescent a promising molecule to combine with that lead asset.
The bispecific drug of Waltham, Massachusetts-based Crescent is code-named CR-001. Kelun-Biotech’s drug is SKB105, an antibody drug conjugate (ADC). The companies are already on track to bring their respective drugs into Phase 1/2 testing in early 2026 as monotherapies for solid tumors.
Under deal terms announced Thursday, Kelun-Biotech has granted Crescent exclusive rights to develop and commercialize its ADC in the U.S., Europe, and all other markets outside of Greater China, where the biotech is based. Meanwhile, Crescent has granted Kelun-Biotech exclusive rights to develop and commercialize its bispecific drug in Greater China. The deal permits both companies to independently develop CR-001 in additional combinations, including combinations of the bispecific antibody with proprietary ADC’s in their respective pipelines.
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“This collaboration expands our pipeline with the addition of SKB105, furthers our strategy of advancing multiple modalities across our portfolio, and accelerates our efforts to deliver synergistic combinations with CR-001, which has the potential to be a foundational backbone therapy,” Crescent CEO Joshua Brumm said in a prepared statement.
Crescent’s CR-001 is designed to treat cancer by blocking two targets, the proteins PD-1 and VEGF. Such drugs have become hot commodities. Summit Therapeutics, Merck, Instil Bio, BioNTech, and Pfizer have added PD-1/VEGF-targeting bispecific antibodies to their pipelines — all via deals with China-based biotechs. In the case of BioNTech, its bispecific drug led to a wide-ranging partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb, which could pair the asset with its own cancer immunotherapies.
Crescent and its PD-1/VEGF bispecific drug came from Paragon Therapeutics, a Waltham-based company that conducts biotechnology research and forms startups to advance its discoveries. Crescent was the fifth company formed around assets discovered by Paragon. Earlier this year, Crescent went public in a reverse merger.
In preclinical testing, Crescent has said CR-001 showed “robust anti-tumor activity.” The company added that its drug’s anti-VEGF activity may also normalize vasculature at the tumor site, which has the potential to improve on effectiveness of combination therapies, such as combinations with ADCs. The Crescent pipeline includes two ADCs licensed from Paragon. The Kelun-Biotech ADC goes after integrin beta-6 (ITGB6), a protein highly expressed by some cancers.
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In an investor presentation, Crescent said it plans combination studies with multiple ADCs from both companies adding that the partnership enables rapid generation of combo data. Crescent also said Kelun-Biotech’s data will inform the strategy for using CR-001 as a backbone for other possible combination studies.
The financial terms of the Crescent’s partnership with Kelun-Biotech has money changing hands in both directions. Crescent is paying Kelun-Biotech $80 million up front and could shell out up to $1.25 billion more in milestone payments. The deal also puts Kelun-Biotech in line for an additional unspecified sum from Crescent if the Massachusetts company undergoes a near-term change of control or enters a sublicense agreement with a third party. Meanwhile, Kelun-Biotech is paying Crescent $20 million up front; up to $30 million more is tied to achievement of milestones.
Separate from the partnership agreement, Crescent announced a $185 million private placement to support the company through key clinical trial readouts expected to start in 2027, when the company expects to receive preliminary data from tests of CR-001 as a monotherapy and as part of combinations with ADCs. Participants in the stock sale include Forbion, Fairmount, Vestal Point Capital, BVF Partners, ADAR1, Balyasny Asset Management, and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners. Those investors agreed to purchase more than 13.7 million Crescent shares for $13.41 each, which is the same as the stock’s closing price on Wednesday.
In its report of third quarter 2025 financial results last month, Crescent said its $133.3 million cash position was expected to fund operations through 2027. With the additional capital from the private placement, Crescent said it expects its cash will last into 2028.
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