Buyers of bispecifics continue to emerge

Bispecifics antibodies are already big business, and the emergence of two deals this week has investors predicting that more will follow as new iterations of this technology reach the market. Today Jazz paid $50m to corner Zymework’s zanidatamab, a project that hits two Her2 epitopes; a further $325m will be paid should Jazz decide to push on with the licence after a registrational biliary tract cancer trial reads out. Data are expected before year end. The sellside has punchy numbers for zanidatamab – $639m by 2028 according to Evaluate Pharma’s consensus – and with breakthrough therapy designation in place, the project could be one of the next bispecifics to reach the market. The other deal this week was earlier stage, with Gilead taking an option over Macrogenics’ phase 1-stage CD123 x CD3-directed MGD024, and two other research projects. That involved a $60m up-front fee, showing that even projects that have yet to prove their worth can attract healthy sums. But there is also scarcity value in this space, with many small specialist players already tied up by partnerships. The next wave, some of which Evaluate Vantage has highlighted below, might be on the radars of larger developers.