PharmaEngine, a biopharmaceutical company based in Taiwan, inked an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with France-based nanomedicine company Nanobiotix for the development and commercialization of NBTXR3.

NBTXR3, currently being investigated in a phase I study with soft tissue sarcoma patients, is a nanoparticle formulation of hafnium oxide crystals for the local treatment of tumors to enhance the efficacy of radiotherapy.

PharmaEngine will receive the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize NBTXR3 in Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Nanobiotix will receive an upfront payment of $1 million and is eligible to receive up to a total of $56 million upon achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales milestones, as well as tiered, up to double-digit royalties on net product sales of NBTXR3 in the licensed territory. PharmaEngine will further fund the clinical development of NBTXR3 in three different indications according to an agreed upon time schedule and development plan.

“We are attracted by the innovative approach of NBTXR3 to overcome the current limitations of radiotherapy, and the possibility of developing it as a medical device which follows a faster development and regulatory pathway than a drug,” said C. Grace Yeh, Ph.D., president and CEO of PharmaEngine. “We believe that by joining forces with Nanobiotix, PharmaEngine can expand the clinical applications of this project based on our successful experience with a nanoparticle formulation of irinotecan.”