Lonza has entered into a new licensing agreement with biotechnology company InduPro to support the development of next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapies for cancer. The collaboration combines Lonza’s established ADC technology platform with InduPro’s innovative bispecific antibody approach, with the goal of creating more precise and effective treatments for patients with difficult-to-treat tumors.
Under the agreement, Lonza, through one of its affiliated companies, will provide InduPro with a non-exclusive worldwide license to several of its proprietary technologies, including GlycoConnect®, HydraSpace®, and its linker-payload platform. These technologies will be used to develop ADCs targeting up to two oncology antigens, expanding InduPro’s pipeline of experimental cancer therapies.
Antibody-drug conjugates are an increasingly important class of targeted cancer medicines that combine the precision of antibodies with the cell-killing power of chemotherapy. By delivering toxic drugs directly to cancer cells while limiting exposure to healthy tissue, ADCs have emerged as one of the fastest-growing areas in oncology drug development.
The new partnership aims to further improve this approach by combining InduPro’s proprietary platform, which identifies disease-specific pairs of cell-surface proteins, with Lonza’s advanced ADC technologies. InduPro’s bispecific antibodies are designed to recognize two distinct targets simultaneously, allowing therapies to more accurately identify cancer cells. When paired with Lonza’s conjugation and linker technologies, the companies believe the resulting ADCs could offer improved selectivity, enhanced efficacy, and a wider therapeutic window.
The collaboration will also incorporate SYNtecan E™, one of Lonza’s advanced ADC platform technologies, to help optimize the design and development of these experimental therapies.
Jan Vertommen, Vice President of Commercial Development for Advanced Synthesis at Lonza, said the agreement highlights the strength and flexibility of the company’s ADC platform. He noted that combining Lonza’s expertise in bioconjugation technologies and manufacturing with InduPro’s proximity-guided antibody platform reinforces the company’s commitment to supporting partners developing innovative cancer treatments.
Prakash Raman, Chief Executive Officer of InduPro, described the agreement as an important milestone for the company’s growing pipeline of proximity-driven bispecific ADCs. He said InduPro’s technology is designed to identify novel disease-specific co-target pairs that could enable highly selective cancer therapies. By integrating those capabilities with Lonza’s industry-leading ADC technologies, the company hopes to develop first-in-class medicines capable of improving treatment precision while reducing unwanted side effects.
The partnership reflects the continued momentum behind antibody-drug conjugates, which have become one of the pharmaceutical industry’s most active areas of oncology research. Advances in linker chemistry, payload design, and antibody engineering have led to a growing number of successful ADC therapies, encouraging companies to invest in next-generation platforms capable of targeting cancers that remain difficult to treat.
For Lonza, the agreement further expands the reach of its licensing business by enabling biotechnology companies to access its proprietary ADC technologies. For InduPro, the collaboration provides access to proven conjugation technologies that could accelerate the development of differentiated cancer therapies with global potential.
As both companies continue their research, the collaboration aims to generate highly targeted antibody-drug conjugates that could offer new treatment options for patients with hard-to-treat cancers while advancing the next generation of precision oncology therapies.