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- ATG-106 is a first-in-class CDH6 x CD3 bispecific T cell engager (TCE) in preclinical development for the treatment of solid tumors
- K2 Therapeutics, established by MPM BioImpact, obtains exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize ATG-106 outside Greater China
- Antengene receives upfront and near-term considerations of approximately USD 20 million for ATG-106; eligible to receive up to USD 960.5 million in future milestones
- K2 Therapeutics enters into option agreement with Antengene to obtain exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize an undisclosed preclinical bispecific TCE candidate outside Greater China
- The deal underscores AnTenGager® platform’s differentiated capabilities in developing next-generation novel TCEs with broad applicability, and also marks the second transaction involving an AnTenGager® TCE, following the global exclusive license agreement with UCB for ATG-201 announced in March 2026
BOSTON, SINGAPORE and HONG KONG, June 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Antengene Corporation Limited (“Antengene“, SEHK: [6996 HK]), a leading innovative, commercial-stage global biotech company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing first-in-class and/or best-in-class medicines for autoimmune diseases, solid tumors and hematological malignancies indications, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement (“License Agreement“) with K2 Therapeutics for ATG-106, a preclinical CDH6 x CD3 bispecific T cell engager (TCE) in development for solid tumors. Antengene also announced that it has entered into an option agreement (“Option Agreement“) to grant K2 Therapeutics the option to obtain exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize an undisclosed preclinical bispecific TCE candidate. Across both the License Agreement and the Option Agreement, K2 Therapeutics’ rights extend globally, excluding Greater China.
K2 Therapeutics, established by MPM BioImpact, is a biotech company and scalable hub-and-spoke engine built for global impact, with search and development capabilities unconstrained by modality or geography. MPM BioImpact is a world-leading biotechnology investment firm, with over 30 years’ experience creating and investing in innovative companies.
“We are very pleased to expand our partnerships with our TCE pipeline with this important collaboration around our AnTenGager® platform,” said Dr. Jay Mei, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Antengene. “We believe ATG-106, our CDH6 x CD3 bispecific TCE reflects the differentiated design of AnTenGager® TCEs and their potential in solid tumors. AnTenGager® TCEs are designed to address key challenges that have historically limited first-generation TCEs in solid tumors, particularly with respect to safety and tolerability. By combining steric hindrance-based masking with our proprietary fast on/off CD3 binder, AnTenGager® TCEs are designed to activate T cells in a disease-associated antigen-gated manner, with the potential to reduce cytokine release syndrome and T cell exhaustion while maintaining potent anti-tumor activity.”
Both ATG-106 and the undisclosed program leverage Antengene’s proprietary AnTenGager® platform, which offers a differentiated TCE approach, where binding of the TCE arm (CD3) is sterically masked in the absence of target antigen binding providing potent activity and better tolerability.
“We are excited to license ATG-106, a highly differentiated CDH6 x CD3 bispecific TCE, as well as a second promising TCE program enabled by the cutting-edge AnTenGager® platform,” said Frank Neumann, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of K2 Therapeutics. “CDH6 is an attractive target given its overexpression in tumors such as ovarian and renal cancers, and its limited expression in normal adult tissues. We believe the unique design of ATG-106 has the potential to meaningfully advance the field of solid tumor TCEs. We look forward to advancing ATG-106 toward the clinic and to delivering meaningful benefit to patients.”
Under the License Agreement, Antengene is entitled to upfront and near-term considerations of approximately USD 20 million, consisting of cash and a minority equity stake in a newly established asset company and subsidiary of K2 Therapeutics, subject to the satisfaction of certain near-term conditions. Antengene is also eligible to receive developmental, regulatory and sales milestone payments of up to USD 960.5 million related to ATG-106, plus tiered royalties on future net sales.
Under the Option Agreement, upon exercise of the option, Antengene is entitled to receive upfront and near-term considerations of approximately USD 20 million, consisting of an option exercise fee, near-term payment and upfront payment, as well as a minority equity stake in the related asset company. Antengene would also be eligible to receive developmental, regulatory and sales milestone payments of up to USD 960.5 million related to the undisclosed TCE program, plus tiered royalties on future net sales.
About Antengene
Antengene Corporation Limited (“Antengene”, SEHK: 6996.HK) is a global, R&D-driven, commercial-stage biotech company focused on developing first-in-class/best-in-class therapeutics for diseases with significant unmet medical needs. Its pipeline spans from preclinical to commercial stages, with key investigational candidates including ATG-022 (CLDN18.2 ADC), ATG-037 (oral CD73 inhibitor), ATG-101 (PD-L1 x 4-1BB bispecific antibody), ATG-125 (B7-H3 × PD-L1 bispecific ADC), ATG-207 (αCD3-TGF-β bifunctional fusion protein), as well as T cell engager (TCE) programs developed using Antengene’s proprietary AnTenGager® platform.
AnTenGager®, is Antengene’s proprietary TCE 2.0 platform, featuring “2+1” bivalent binding for low expressing targets, steric hindrance masking, and proprietary CD3 sequences with fast on/off kinetics to minimize cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and enhance efficacy. These characteristics support the platform’s broad applicability across autoimmune disease, solid tumors and hematological malignancies, with programs targeting CD19 x CD3 (ATG-201 for B cell-related autoimmune diseases; partnered with UCB), CDH6 x CD3 (ATG-106 for ovarian cancer and kidney cancer), ALPPL2 x CD3 (ATG-112 for gynecological tumors, digestive system malignancies, bladder cancer and NSCLC), LY6G6D x CD3 (ATG-110 for microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer), GPRC5D x CD3 (ATG-021 for multiple myeloma), LILRB4 x CD3 (ATG-102 for acute myeloid leukemia and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia) and FLT3 x CD3 (ATG-107 for acute myeloid leukemia).
To date, Antengene has obtained 33 investigational new drug (IND) approvals in the U.S. and Asia, and obtained new drug application (NDA) approvals in 10 Asia Pacific markets. Its lead commercial asset, XPOVIO® (selinexor), is approved in the Mainland of China, Taiwan China, Hong Kong China, Macau China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia, and has been included in the national insurance schemes in five of these markets (Mainland of China, Taiwan China, Australia, South Korea and Singapore).
About K2 Therapeutics
K2 Therapeutics is a biotech company built for global impact, with search and development capabilities unconstrained by modality or geography. K2 Therapeutics identifies the world’s most innovative assets and translates them into great medicines through a disciplined development approach led by experienced drug developers. The Company aims to build a pipeline focused on high-potential first- and best-in-class assets with meaningful potential for patient impact worldwide.
About MPM BioImpact
MPM BioImpact is a world-leading biotechnology investment firm with over 30 years of expertise creating and investing in innovative companies to deliver transformative therapies to patients. Its experienced and dedicated team of investment professionals, entrepreneurs, advisors and leading scientists translate scientific discoveries into breakthrough medicines and potential cures. The Firm manages over $3.5 billion AUM across early-stage venture funds, private/public impact funds and public equities funds. For more information, visit www.mpmbioimpact.com
Forward-looking statements
The forward-looking statements made in this article relate only to the events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this article. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this article completely and with the understanding that our actual future results or performance may be materially different from what we expect. In this article, statements of, or references to, our intentions or those of any of our Directors or our Company are made as of the date of this article. Any of these intentions may alter in light of future development. For a further discussion of these and other factors that could cause future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement, please see the other risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2025, and the documents subsequently submitted to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
For more information, please contact:
Investor Contacts:
Donald Lung
E-mail: donald.lung@antengene.com
BD Contacts:
Ariel Guo
E-mail: ariel.guo@antengene.com