Palleon Pharmaceuticals and Shanghai Henlius Biotech have entered a licence agreement and partnership for the former’s sialidase enzyme therapeutic, E-602, to treat autoimmune diseases.

The partnership focuses on the first-in-class therapeutic, in conjunction with Henlius' HANLIKANG (rituximab), for individuals with autoimmune conditions such as lupus nephritis.

Henlius has secured an exclusive licence to develop and commercialise E-602 in China.

Palleon will receive $95.3m in development and commercial milestones, plus royalties on the commercialisation of E-602 in the Chinese region.

Henlius will fund and conduct the development of the therapy in the country for lupus nephritis treatment.

The collaboration builds on the existing Palleon-Henlius oncology partnership established in June 2022, for the co-development of targeted sialidase therapies for cancer.

Henlius Biotech CEO and executive director Dr Jason Zhu stated: “We are pleased to expand our collaboration with Palleon Pharmaceuticals. HANLIKANG is the only rituximab approved for an autoimmune indication in China.

“We are committed to bringing better therapies to patients who suffer from lupus nephritis and other autoimmune conditions for which current treatment options are not always sufficient.”

Derived from Palleon's EAGLE glycan editing platform, E-602, in conjunction with rituximab, yields improved outcomes compared to rituximab alone in preclinical studies.

This combination does not carry the risks of cytokine release syndrome and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome, which are potential side effects of other treatments such as T cell engagers and CAR T.

Palleon Pharmaceuticals CEO and founder Jim Broderick stated: “Palleon’s glycan editing therapeutic has the potential to significantly improve treatment outcomes in patients who have autoimmune diseases including lupus nephritis, with a therapy that achieves optimal patient accessibility, including delivery in community outpatient settings.

“We look forward to continuing our successful partnership with Henlius and expanding glyco-immunology drug development to address a new category of patients in need of better treatment options.”

In October 2023, Intas Pharmaceuticals entered an exclusive agreement with Henlius to develop and commercialise serplulimab in Europe and India.