13 May 2021 - - Paris-based clinical biotechnology company Nanobiotix (NASDAQ: NBTX) has forged a partnership with biotechnology company LianBio to bringing medicines to patients in China and major Asian markets, to develop and commercialize Nanobiotix lead product candidate NBTXR3, a potential first-in-class radioenhancer, in Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau), South Korea, Singapore and Thailand, the company said.

Shanghai and Princeton-based LianBio was founded by Perceptive Advisors with an innovative partnership model to develop and commercialize therapeutics in China and other Asian markets.

LianBio's cross-border development and commercialization expertise includes strong capabilities in oncology and NBTXR3 is the third investigational cancer treatment in the company's portfolio.

Given the global high unmet need in locally advanced and metastatic cancers, along with data supporting the potential of NBTXR3 across solid and metastatic tumor types, Nanobiotix continues to leverage strategic relationships with world class collaborators to expand and accelerate its pipeline while prioritizing company resources to support development in head and neck cancer and immunotherapy.

Under the terms of the agreement, LianBio will obtain exclusive rights to develop and commercialize NBTXR3 in Greater China, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand.

Nanobiotix will receive a USD 20m upfront payment and is entitled to receive up to an aggregate of USD 220m in potential contingent, development and commercialization milestone payments.

Nanobiotix will also be eligible to receive tiered, low double-digit royalties based on net sales of NBTXR3 in the licensed territories.

LianBio will participate in the Nanobiotix global phase III registrational study evaluating NBTXR3 for patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC; head and neck cancer) by enrolling 100 patients in China in the study.

In addition to the phase III head and neck cancer study, LianBio has committed to enroll patients in four additional registrational studies conducted by Nanobiotix across indications and therapeutic combinations potentially including immunotherapy.

LianBio will fund all development and commercialization expenses in the collaboration territory, and Nanobiotix will continue to fund all development and commercialization expenses in all other geographies.

NBTXR3 is a novel, potentially first-in-class oncology product composed of functionalized hafnium oxide nanoparticles that is administered via one-time intratumoral injection and activated by radiotherapy.

The product candidate's physical mechanism of action is designed to induce significant tumor cell death in the injected tumor when activated by radiotherapy, subsequently triggering adaptive immune response and long-term anti-cancer memory.

Given the physical MoA, Nanobiotix believes that NBTXR3 could be scalable across any solid tumor that can be treated with radiotherapy and across any therapeutic combination, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors.

NBTXR3 is being evaluated primarily in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

The company-sponsored phase I dose escalation and dose expansion study has produced consistently favorable safety data and early signs of efficacy; and a phase III global registrational study is planned to launch in 2021.

In February 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration granted regulatory Fast Track designation for the investigation of NBTXR3 activated by radiation therapy, with or without cetuximab, for the treatment of patients with locally advanced HNSCC who are not eligible for platinum-based chemotherapy, the same population being evaluated in the planned phase III study.

Nanobiotix has also prioritized an Immuno-Oncology development program, beginning with a company-sponsored phase I clinical study evaluating NBTXR3 activated by radiotherapy in combination with anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors for patients with locoregional recurrent or recurrent/metastatic HNSCC and lung or liver metastases from any primary cancer eligible for anti-PD-1 therapy.

Given the company's focus areas, and balanced against the scalable potential of NBTXR3, Nanobiotix has engaged in a strategic collaboration strategy with world class partners to expand development of the product candidate in parallel with its priority development pathways.

Pursuant to this strategy, in 2019 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center entered into a broad, comprehensive clinical research collaboration with Nanobiotix to sponsor several phase I and phase II studies to evaluate NBTXR3 across tumor types and therapeutic combinations.

Nanobiotix is a late-stage clinical biotechnology company pioneering disruptive, physics-based therapeutic approaches to revolutionize treatment outcomes for millions of patients; supported by people committed to making a difference for humanity.

The company's philosophy is rooted in the concept of pushing past the boundaries of what is known to expand possibilities for human life.

Inc. in 2003, Nanobiotix is headquartered in Paris, France. The company also has subsidiaries in Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States), France, Spain, and Germany.

Nanobiotix has been listed on Euronext: Paris since 2012 and on the NASDAQ Global Select Market in New York City since December 2020.

Nanobiotix is the owner of more than 30 umbrella patents associated with three nanotechnology platforms with applications in oncology; bioavailability and biodistribution; and disorders of the central nervous system.

The company's resources are primarily devoted to the development of its lead product candidate, NBTXR3, which is the product of its proprietary oncology platform and has already achieved market authorization in Europe for the treatment of patients with soft tissue sarcoma under the brand name Hensify.

LianBio's mission is to catalyze the development and accelerate availability of paradigm-shifting medicines to patients in China and major Asian markets through partnerships that provide access to the best science-driven therapeutic discoveries.

LianBio collaborates with partners across a range of therapeutic and geographic areas to build out a pipeline based on disease relevance and the ability to impact patients with transformative mechanisms and precision-based therapeutics.