Adagene Inc. announced on September 16, 2025, an amendment to its 2021 collaboration and license agreement with Exelixis. This expanded partnership will see Exelixis utilize Adagene’s proprietary SAFEbody® technology platform to generate a masked monoclonal antibody from Adagene’s pipeline. This antibody will be developed into an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting a solid tumor target nominated by Exelixis.
Under the terms of the amended agreement, Adagene is eligible to receive development and commercialization milestones, as well as royalties on net sales of any products developed around this new target. This marks the expansion of the collaboration to a third program, underscoring the continued value and versatility of Adagene's SAFEbody technology in addressing the challenges of on-target off-tumor toxicity in cancer therapies.
Peter Luo, Ph.D., CEO of Adagene, stated that the evolving partnership with Exelixis highlights the potential of conditional masking to safely deliver payloads or immune-modulating antibodies directly to tumor cells. This collaboration further validates Adagene's platform, which enables antibodies or ADCs to remain inactive until they reach the tumor microenvironment, thereby achieving a wide therapeutic index.
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