Endeavor Buys Cancer Therapy In $430M Deal

Endeavor Biomedicines will pay Hummingbird Bioscience up to $430 million for the worldwide rights to its tumor-targeting drug. The license agreement exclusively provides Endeavor with HMBD-501, Hummingbird’s cancer-treating therapeutic. Hummingbird will be eligible to receive upfront and milestone payments, plus royalties on net sales.

“The deal provides Endeavor with a novel and potentially best-in-class anti-cancer therapeutic to develop,” said Endeavor Biomedicine Founder, CEO & Executive Chairman John Hood. The privately held Del Mar-based clinical-stage biotech company targets the drivers of fibrosis and oncology.

With operations in Singapore and Houston, Hummingbird is also a clinical-stage biotech company, focused on discovering and developing medicines for hard-to-treat diseases.

Precision Cancer Medicine

Hummingbird’s drug – HMBD-501 – is a so-called “HER3-targeted ADC (Antibody Drug Conjugate)”. In non-science terms, that’s a cancer medicine that targets the proteins expressed in several types of tumors. According to Endeavor, ADCs are transforming the approach to cancer treatment by potentially improving how drugs are delivered, improving the safety and effectiveness for patients. Yet there’s still significant room to make them even better.

“Hummingbird Bio has designed HMBD-501 to have a wider therapeutic index than current HER3 ADCs, maximizing the potential clinical benefit for patients, and we are delighted that Endeavor has recognized the potential of this ADC built with our proprietary antibody technology,” said Dr. Piers Ingram, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of Hummingbird Bio. “We are pleased to license HMBD-501 to the experienced Endeavor team to bring the molecule into the clinic and a step closer to benefiting patients.” If all goes as planned, a commercial launch could happen by 2030.

Targeting Debilitating Lung Disease

Endeavor’s pipeline also includes what it calls ENV-101 – a phase 2 therapy developed to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). It’s a chronic disease affecting the tissue surrounding the air sacs — or alveoli — in the lungs, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH reports that it develops when lung tissue becomes thick and stiff for unknown reasons, causing permanent scarring over time, known as fibrosis. This leads to difficulty breathing. There is currently no cure for IPF.

“This [deal with Hummingbird] greatly expands the number of patients we can treat if the therapies reach the market and diversifies our portfolio across new assets, therapeutic targets and treatment modalities,’ added Hood.

Earlier this year, Endeavor announced the completion of a $101 million Series B financing, led by Ally Bridge Group and Avidity Partners. New investors included Perceptive Advisors, Piper Heartland Healthcare Capital, Revelation Partners, funds managed by Tekla Capital Management LLC, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. Two existing investors – Omega Funds and Longitude Capital – also participated.

“In five years, I see Endeavor being one of the leading biotech companies in the San Diego area. Our goal is to develop therapies that profoundly improve patient care and change the way disease is treated,” added Hood. “According to current plans, we would have completed or nearly completed registrational studies for the novel anticancer agent we just in-licensed. This puts us in a position to go to market with agents capable of treating hundreds of thousands of patients who don’t currently have effective care for deadly diseases. In addition, we will have expanded the development of IPF treatment beyond lung fibrosis into other fibrotic diseases.”

Endeavor Biomedicines

FOUNDED: 2020
FOUNDER & CEO: John Hood
HEADQUARTERS: Del Mar
FUNDING: $163 million (Series A and B)
EMPLOYEES: 22
BUSINESS: biotech
WEBSITE: endeavorbiomedicines.com
CONTACT: info@endeavorbiomedicines.com  or 858-537-1700
NOTABLE: Earlier this year, Endeavor announced the completion of a $101M Series B financing led by Ally Bridge Group and Avidity Partners to support a pipeline of therapeutics.