Biotechnology company Seattle Genetics Inc (Nasdaq:SGEN) said on Tuesday that it has triggered a milestone payment from Roche following the European Commission's conditional marketing authorisation for Polivy (polatuzumab vedotin).

The company said Polivy was approved in combination with bendamustine plus MabThera (rituximab) (BR) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), who are not candidates for a haematopoietic stem cell transplant. Polivy was granted PRIME (PRIority MEdicines) designation by the EMA for treating R/R DLBCL in 2017.

Polivy, which is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that utilizes Seattle Genetics' technology, was developed and is commercialized by Roche/Genentech. The ADC technology combines the specificity of monoclonal antibodies, innovative linker systems and potent cell-killing agents to treat cancer. The technology has been licensed to several companies, including Roche/Genentech and GlaxoSmithKline.

This agreement provides each licensee company with rights to use the technology with antibodies against specified targets. The licensee is responsible for research, product development, manufacturing and commercialization.

Hence, Seattle Genetics is entitled to receive fees, progress-dependent milestone payments and royalties on worldwide net sales of any resulting ADC products.