en.Wedoany.com Reported - Ascentage Pharma Group and K2 Therapeutics have entered into an exclusive license agreement for a preclinical-stage solid tumor therapeutic, involving a CDH6 x CD3 bispecific T-cell engager (TCE) ATG-106, along with an option agreement for another undisclosed TCE candidate. Under the terms of the agreement, Ascentage Pharma will receive an upfront payment and near-term payments of approximately $20 million, with the potential to receive up to $960.5 million in milestone payments.
Ascentage Pharma Group (Antengene Corporation Limited, 06996.HK) and K2 Therapeutics announced on June 22, 2026, that they have entered into an exclusive license agreement for ATG-106 and signed an option agreement for another undisclosed preclinical bispecific TCE candidate. Under these two agreements, K2 Therapeutics has obtained exclusive global development and commercialization rights for the two drugs outside of Greater China. ATG-106 is a CDH6 x CD3 bispecific T-cell engager developed based on Ascentage Pharma's proprietary AnTenGager® platform, targeting solid tumors.
K2 Therapeutics, founded by MPM BioImpact, is a biotechnology company. MPM BioImpact is a world-leading biotechnology investment firm with over 30 years of experience in founding and investing. Dr. Jianming Mei, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Ascentage Pharma, stated that he believes ATG-106 reflects the differentiated design of AnTenGager® TCE and its potential in solid tumors. The platform aims to address key challenges in the safety and tolerability of first-generation TCEs in solid tumor applications through steric hindrance masking and proprietary rapid binding/dissociation CD3 binders, with the potential to reduce cytokine release syndrome and T-cell exhaustion. Dr. Frank Neumann, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of K2 Therapeutics, noted that CDH6 is overexpressed in tumors such as ovarian and kidney cancers, with limited expression in normal adult tissues, and the unique design of ATG-106 has the potential to significantly advance the field of TCEs in solid tumors.
Under the license agreement, Ascentage Pharma is entitled to an upfront payment and near-term payments of approximately $20 million, including cash and minority equity interests in K2 Therapeutics' newly established asset company and subsidiaries. Ascentage Pharma is also eligible to receive development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments related to ATG-106, totaling up to $960.5 million, as well as tiered royalties on future net sales. Under the option agreement, upon exercise of the option, Ascentage Pharma is similarly entitled to an upfront payment and near-term payments of approximately $20 million, including the option exercise fee, near-term payments, and upfront payment, as well as minority equity interests in the related asset company, and is eligible to receive development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments related to the undisclosed TCE program, totaling up to $960.5 million, along with tiered royalties on future net sales.
AnTenGager® is Ascentage Pharma's proprietary TCE 2.0 platform, featuring "2+1" bivalent binding for low-expression targets, steric hindrance masking, and proprietary CD3 sequences, designed to minimize cytokine release syndrome through rapid binding/dissociation kinetics and enhance efficacy. This transaction is the second deal involving AnTenGager® TCE, following a global exclusive license agreement with UCB for ATG-201 in March 2026. Ascentage Pharma is a global biotechnology company focused on first-in-class and best-in-class drugs for autoimmune diseases, solid tumors, and hematologic malignancies, with a pipeline spanning from preclinical to commercial stages, including ATG-022, ATG-037, ATG-101, ATG-125, ATG-207, and multiple TCE programs developed using the AnTenGager® platform.
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