AbbVie Halts Development of Dragonfly Cancer Asset, Reaffirms Commitment to c-Met Therapies

AbbVie Terminates ABBV-303 Clinical Trial

AbbVie has announced the termination of clinical activities surrounding ABBV-303, a natural killer (NK) cell engager developed in collaboration with Dragonfly Therapeutics. The decision to halt the phase 1 solid tumor trial was attributed to "strategic considerations," according to the federal trial database clinicaltrials.gov.

An AbbVie spokesperson confirmed to Fierce Biotech that the company has "terminated clinical activity around ABBV-303." The trial was evaluating ABBV-303 both as a monotherapy and in combination with AbbVie's anti-PD-1 antibody budigalimab (ABBV-181) in patients with solid tumors expressing c-Met, a receptor protein commonly found on the surface of tumor cells.

Ongoing Collaboration with Dragonfly Therapeutics

Despite the termination of ABBV-303's development, AbbVie emphasized that its partnership with Dragonfly Therapeutics remains active. The collaboration, which began in 2019 and was expanded in 2022, focuses on oncology and autoimmune diseases.

ABBV-303 was the first asset from the AbbVie-Dragonfly collaboration to enter clinical trials, triggering a milestone payment for Dragonfly in March 2024. The AbbVie spokesperson stated, "This termination does not impact our commitment to continue advancing c-Met targeted therapies."

Dragonfly's Diverse Pipeline and Industry Collaborations

Dragonfly Therapeutics maintains a robust pipeline of both wholly owned assets and collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies. The company's most advanced proprietary candidate is DF1001, a HER2-targeting NK cell engager currently in a phase 1/2 trial for non-small cell lung cancer and metastatic breast cancer.

In addition to its partnership with AbbVie, Dragonfly has established collaborations with other industry giants, including Merck, Gilead, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Notably, Bristol Myers Squibb has previously returned an asset to Dragonfly, highlighting the dynamic nature of these partnerships in the pharmaceutical industry.