CAB-AXL-ADC to be clinically tested for treatment of several solid tumor cancers

SAN DIEGO, CA - January 24, 2018 - BioAtla^© LLC, a global biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologic (CAB) protein therapeutics, announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared BioAtla's Investigational New Drug application (IND) for BA3011, a novel conditionally active AXL-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (CAB-AXL-ADC), in patients with solid tumors. Under this IND, the company intends to initiate a first-in-human, open label, multicenter, dose escalation and dose expansion study of CAB-AXL-ADC in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors. CAB-AXL-ADC will be BioAtla's first CAB investigational product to enter clinical trials in the United States.

The AXL receptor tyrosine kinase is often highly expressed in several cancer types that can lead to poor prognosis. A principal role of AXL appears to be in sustaining a major mechanism of resistance to diverse anticancer therapies. In addition, AXL is a factor in the repression of the innate immune response which may also limit response to treatment including immuno-oncology (IO) therapy.  While this makes the AXL receptor an attractive target for tumor therapy, the AXL receptor is also prevalent in normal tissue of several organs in the body.  To minimize on-target-off-tumor toxicity of binding to AXL receptors on normal cells, BioAtla applies its proprietary CAB technology to develop its CAB antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting AXL with the intent to activate binding to the AXL receptor only in the tumor microenvironment and deliver the toxic payload to the cancerous cells.

About Conditionally Active Biologics (CABs)

Conditionally Active Biologic proteins are generated using BioAtla's proprietary protein discovery, evolution and expression technologies. These proteins can be monoclonal antibodies, enzymes and other proteins designed with functions dependent on changes in microphysiological conditions (e.g., pH level, oxidation, temperature, pressure, presence of certain ions, hydrophobicity and combinations thereof) both outside and inside cells.

Studies have shown that cancerous tumors create highly specific conditions at their site that are not present in normal tissue. These cancerous microenvironments are primarily a result of the well understood unique glycolytic metabolism associated with cancer cells, referred to as the Warburg Effect. CAB proteins are designed to deliver their therapeutic payload and/or recruit the immune response in specific and selected locations and conditions within the body and to be active only in the presence of a particular cellular microenvironment. In addition, the activation is designed to be reversible to repeatedly switch ‘on and off' should the CAB move from a diseased to a normal cellular microenvironment and vice versa. CABs can be developed in a variety of formats including antibodies, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), bi-specifics, chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-Ts) and combination therapies.

Axl and Ror2 targeted CAB-CAR-T cellular products to be tested in patients with refractory, metastatic kidney cancer

SAN DIEGO, CA - January 8, 2018 - BioAtla^© LLC, a global biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologic (CAB) protein therapeutics, announced today that Shanghai Sinobioway Sunterra Biotechnology, a partner of F1 Oncology, Inc., has received ethics committee approval of a clinical trial for two novel, conditionally active chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAB-CAR-T) product candidates targeting Axl and Ror2 for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The precision medicine-driven clinical trial will enroll patients in China with multi-organ, recurrent/refractory metastatic renal cell carcinoma based on expression of the Axl or Ror2 targets in tumor biopsy. F1 Oncology, BioAtla's partner in CAB technology applications for adoptive cellular therapies (ACTs), combines BioAtla's CAB technology with F1 Oncology's proprietary technologies with the goal of developing and commercializing CAB-CAR-T therapies for the treatment of solid tumor malignancies. CAB-CAR-T cell therapies are designed to be conditionally active only in the tumor microenvironment and may therefore help reduce potential adverse events associated with on-target, off-tumor effects of CAR-T therapies.

In 2016 BioAtla granted F1 Oncology an exclusive worldwide license under patents and know-how controlled by BioAtla to discover, develop, manufacture and commercialize ACT preparations and treatments for cancer. The amended financial terms of this license to F1 Oncology include a mid-single digit royalty outside of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan (the Territory) and a low single-digit royalty within the Territory. BioAtla has a majority, non-controlling interest in the outstanding capital stock of F1 Oncology and has no funding or financial obligation.

About Conditionally Active Biologics (CABs)

Conditionally Active Biologic proteins are generated using BioAtla's proprietary protein discovery, evolution and expression technologies. These proteins can be monoclonal antibodies, enzymes and other proteins designed with functions dependent on changes in microphysiological conditions (e.g., pH level, oxidation, temperature, pressure, presence of certain ions, hydrophobicity and combinations thereof) both outside and inside cells.

Studies have shown that cancerous tumors create highly specific conditions at their site that are not present in normal tissue. These cancerous microenvironments are primarily a result of the well understood unique glycolytic metabolism associated with cancer cells, referred to as the Warburg Effect. CAB proteins are designed to deliver their therapeutic payload and/or recruit the immune response in specific and selected locations and conditions within the body and to be active only in the presence of a particular cellular microenvironment. In addition, the activation is designed to be reversible to repeatedly switch ‘on and off' should the CAB move from a diseased to a normal cellular microenvironment and vice versa. CABs can be developed in a variety of formats including antibodies, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), bi-specifics, chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-Ts) and combination therapies.

Leading researchers in immuno-oncology will advise BioAtla on company's proprietary CAB programs and design of combination therapies

SAN DIEGO, CA - November 16, 2017 - BioAtla, LLC, a global biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologic (CAB) antibody therapeutics, today announced the appointments of James Allison, Ph.D. and Padmanee Sharma, M.D., Ph.D. as scientific advisors.  Drs. Allison and Sharma are leading researchers in the field of immuno-oncology.  Dr. Allison's pioneering research in the regulation of T cell responses and strategies for cancer immunotherapy led to the development of the ipilimumab antibody to CTLA-4, the first immune checkpoint blockade therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.  Dr. Sharma has participated in numerous impactful research studies since 1996, focusing primarily on immunotherapy in collaboration with Dr. Allison.  In their collaborative work, Dr. Sharma is exploring combinations of immunological therapies and targeted drugs in preclinical studies to more effectively treat a variety of cancers.

"The knowledge, experience and insights of Drs. Allison and Sharma will provide valuable contributions to the direction and prioritization of our CAB development programs.  In particular, their advice will enhance our decisions and design of combination CAB immunotherapies and CAB bispecifics," said Jay M. Short, Ph.D., chairman, president and chief financial officer of BioAtla.

About Dr. Allison

James Allison, Ph.D., is Chair of the Department of Immunology, the Vivian L. Smith Distinguished Chair in Immunology, Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Research, and the Executive Director of the Immunotherapy Platform at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MD Anderson).

Among Dr. Allison's most notable discoveries in his distinguished career studying the regulation of T cell responses, are the determination of the T cell receptor structure and that CD28 is the costimulatory molecule that allows full activation of naïve T cells and prevents anergy in T cell clones.  His lab resolved a major controversy by demonstrating that CTLA-4 inhibits T cell activation by opposing CD28-mediated costimulation and that blockade of CTLA-4 could enhance T cell responses, leading to tumor rejection in animal models, and launched the emerging field of immune checkpoint blockade therapy for cancer. Dr. Allison is a member of the National Academies of Science and Medicine and received the Lasker-Debakey Clinical Medical Research Award in 2015.

About Dr. Sharma

Padmanee Sharma, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and Immunology in the Division of Cancer Medicine at MD Anderson. Dr. Sharma is also Scientific Director, Immunotherapy Platform, and Co-Director, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.  She has tested novel cancer immunotherapy strategies in clinical trials that permitted access to surgical samples or longitudinal biopsy samples, which allowed her to identify mechanisms of response and resistance to therapy. She has won numerous awards during her career including the Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Development Award, the Prostate Cancer Foundation Challenge Award, the MD Anderson Cancer Center Faculty Scholar Award and the Emil Frei Award for Translational Research. 

Five new CAB antibody candidates to be selected

New services agreement provides for discounted development and manufacturing costs

SAN DIEGO, CA - May 16, 2017 - BioAtla^© LLC, a global biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologic (CAB) antibody therapeutics, today announced that BioAtla and Beijing Sinobioway Group Company, Limited (Sinobioway) expanded their CAB development and commercialization collaboration agreement with the addition of five new CAB antibody targets, and entered into a new services agreement for Sinobioway to provide specified development and manufacturing services to BioAtla.

In March 2015, BioAtla and Sinobioway entered into a strategic collaboration for the development and commercialization of select CAB antibodies for specific indications in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan (the Territory). As a result of the selection of the initial four CAB candidates and the specific indications for development under this agreement for 2016, BioAtla received collaboration funding payments from Sinobioway in 2015 and 2016 totaling $40 million. Under the expanded agreement, Sinobioway is obligated to select five additional new CAB antibody indications and to pay BioAtla a total of $50 million, comprised of $30 million in cash and $20 million in the form of credits for future manufacturing and development services to be performed at discounted rates by Sinobioway pursuant to the services agreement.

Of the $30 million cash payment, BioAtla is entitled to receive $5 million in May 2017 and $25 million following the first approval of an Investigational New Drug application (IND) filed by BioAtla with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to commence a Phase 1 clinical trial of a CAB antibody candidate. In addition, pursuant to the expanded agreement, upon the later of BioAtla's first IND approval and March 31, 2018, Sinobioway will be obligated to pay BioAtla upfront payments totaling $40 million in cash for four more antibody candidate indications. BioAtla is currently completing pre-IND development of its CAB Axl-ADC and CAB Ror2-ADC antibody product candidates. CAB Axl-ADC for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and CAB Ror2-ADC for the treatment of triple negative breast cancer are two of the four initial CAB antibody indications previously selected by Sinobioway for the Territory. Under the collaboration agreement, Sinobioway or certain affiliated entities are obligated to fund the development, manufacturing, clinical trials and commercialization costs in the Territory for each of the Sinobioway selected CAB antibody candidate indications.

The new master services agreement allows for BioAtla to have Sinobioway perform development and manufacturing services pursuant to mutually-agreed upon work plans. These services are available for development and manufacturing of BioAtla's own CAB product candidates as well as for CAB product candidates BioAtla may license to partners other than Sinobioway for development and commercialization primarily in the rest of the world outside of Sinobioway's Territory. Such services may include manufacturing product for clinical trials and for commercialization. Because BioAtla expects that most of the CAB candidates it would seek to develop or manufacture through Sinobioway's services would also be licensed to Sinobioway under the collaboration agreement, Sinobioway would also benefit from performing the services for such CAB products.

Pursuant to the services agreement, Sinobioway is obligated to provide BioAtla pricing at a discount of at least 85% to prevailing market prices for services relating to CAB product candidates through Phase 2 development until BioAtla has received an aggregate of $20 million worth of services at the discounted rate. Thereafter, BioAtla is entitled to a discount of 75% to prevailing market prices for services relating to CAB product candidates through Phase 2 development. In addition, BioAtla is entitled to pricing at Sinobioway's "most preferred rate" for services relating to CAB product candidates in Phase 3 development and for commercial supplies of any approved CAB product. Sinobioway is also required to prioritize work under the work plans for each CAB program over all other projects, including use of equipment for manufacturing projects and animals in animal testing.

About Conditionally Active Biologics (CABs)

Conditionally Active Biologic proteins are generated using BioAtla's proprietary protein discovery, evolution and expression technologies. These proteins can be mAbs, enzymes and other proteins designed with functions dependent on changes in microphysiological conditions (e.g. pH level, oxidation, temperature, pressure, presence of certain ions, hydrophobicity and combinations thereof) both outside and inside cells.

Studies have shown that cancerous tumors create highly specific conditions at their site that are not present in normal tissue. These cancerous microenvironments are primarily a result of the well understood unique glycolytic metabolism associated with cancer cells, referred to as the Warburg Effect. CAB proteins are designed to deliver their therapeutic payload and/or recruit the immune response in specific and selected locations and conditions within the body and to be active only in the presence of a particular cellular microenvironment. In addition, the activation is designed to be reversible to repeatedly switch 'on and off' should the CAB move from a diseased to a normal cellular microenvironment and vice versa. CABs can be developed in a variety of formats including antibodies, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), bi-specifics, chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-Ts) and combination therapies.

About Beijing Sinobioway Group Company, Limited

Sinobioway was founded in 1992 and is one of the three main industrial groups affiliated with Peking University. Sinobioway is mainly engaged in bioeconomy system establishment and bio-industry development. It primarily invests in biomedicine, bioagriculture, bioenergy, bioenvironment, bioservices, biomanufacturing and biointelligence. Biologic therapeutics is a particular focus of Sinobioway in its plans to develop and commercialize new medicines. Sinobioway is constructing a large biologics production facility, with a long-term capability goal of 100 production lines, in the planned Bio-Economic zone under construction in Hefei.

Sinobioway affiliates and US entities invest $37M in F1 Oncology, Inc. First clinical trial with CAB CAR-T in solid tumors planned for China in 2017

SAN DIEGO, CA and WEST PALM BEACH, FL - January 6, 2017 - BioAtla^© LLC, a global biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologic (CAB) protein therapeutics, and F1 Oncology, Inc., a biotechnology company discovering and developing a new class of adoptive cellular therapies (ACTs), today announced a global license agreement to combine BioAtla's CAB technology with F1 Oncology's proprietary technologies to develop and commercialize chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies and other ACTs for the treatment of cancer.

F1 Oncology recently completed a $37M Series A financing led by F1 BioVentures LLC, Sinobioway Group, and SunTerra Capital. Through its international affiliates, F1 Oncology also entered into a development and commercialization agreement with Shanghai SunTerra Biotechnology Ltd. and its network of academic investigators to enable clinical investigation of CAB CAR-T candidates in China. F1 Oncology's partners intend to begin clinical trials in China in 2017 targeting a solid tumor indication using F1's first CAB CAR-T therapy candidate. The financial terms of this agreement include technical and regulatory milestone-based equity investments of up to $50 million through 2018, as well as supply-related payments by target and indication. F1 Oncology retains rights to all products outside China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

BioAtla has granted F1 Oncology an exclusive worldwide license under patents and know-how controlled by BioAtla to discover, develop, manufacture and commercialize ACT preparations and treatments for cancer. The financial terms of this license to F1 Oncology include a mid-single digit royalty outside of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan (the Territory). Within the Territory, the license is royalty-free and fully paid, and BioAtla shares in the product revenue. In exchange for the license rights, as well as BioAtla's agreement not to compete in ACTs, BioAtla received a majority, non-controlling interest of the outstanding capital stock of F1 Oncology and has no funding or financial obligation. BioAtla also has a conditional and time-limited option to acquire at a fixed valuation all of the outstanding equity securities of F1 Oncology held by all other investors.

BioAtla and F1 Oncology have identified CAR-T and other ACT therapies as potential opportunities for the application of CAB technology. BioAtla has demonstrated in preclinical studies that CAB antibodies can be constructed in the same single chain format used by CAR-Ts and can retain their selectivity for binding under conditions representative of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and with minimal to no detectable binding in normal cell conditions. CARs are constructs that contain an antigen-binding domain of an antibody fused to a strong T-cell activator domain. T-cells modified with the CAR construct can bind to the antigen and be stimulated to attack the bound cells. On-target, off-tumor toxicity has largely limited current CAR-T therapies to target blood cancers such as leukemia and some lymphomas. While CAR-T related toxicities are multifactorial and complex, CAR-T cells containing CAB CAR domains targeting solid tumor antigens would be intended to reduce on-target, off-tumor toxicity and potentially increase patient safety.

"We are pleased and excited to collaborate with Dr. Frost and his experienced team at F1 Oncology to combine our CAB technology with F1 Oncology's proprietary technology and manufacturing expertise to develop new CAR-T therapies. Through our combined efforts, F1 Oncology will focus on developing effective and safer therapy to patients and especially to those afflicted with solid tumor cancers representing the great majority of cancer cases," stated Jay M. Short, Ph.D., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of BioAtla. "The structure of our agreements provides for the advancement of CAB opportunities in the important field of ACTs while allowing BioAtla to focus its research, development and management capabilities and financial resources on its primary objectives of creating and commercializing CAB antibodies for cancer therapy and for treatment of other diseases."

"Dr. Short and I have a successful history of early research collaborations in protein evolution that we look forward to applying to this key challenge of adoptive cellular therapy for solid tumors" noted Gregory I. Frost, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of F1 Oncology, Inc. "While patient safety, CAR-T cell engraftment, and definitive radiologic response are the key milestones from which these first programs must be judged, we are encouraged by the successful generation and pre-clinical testing by F1 Oncology of conditionally active CAR-T cells in primary human lymphocytes with a number of BioAtla's CAB domains in F1 Oncology's CAR-T platform."

About Conditionally Active Biologics (CABs)

Conditionally Active Biologic proteins are generated using BioAtla's proprietary protein discovery, evolution and expression technologies. These proteins can be mAbs, enzymes and other proteins designed with functions dependent on changes in microphysiological conditions (e.g., pH level, oxidation, temperature, pressure, presence of certain ions, hydrophobicity and combinations thereof) both outside and inside cells.

Studies have shown that cancerous tumors create highly specific conditions at their site that are not present in normal tissue. These cancerous microenvironments are primarily a result of the well understood unique glycolytic metabolism associated with cancer cells, referred to as the Warburg Effect. CAB-designed mAbs can be programmed to deliver their therapeutic payload and/or recruit the immune response in specific and selected locations and conditions within the body. CABs have the potential to increase safety because they are designed to be active only in the presence of a particular cellular microenvironment thereby preferentially binding to their intended target protein in the area of disease. In addition, the activation is reversible and can repeatedly switch ‘on and off' should the CAB move from a diseased to a normal cellular microenvironment and vice versa, thereby further reducing chances the CAB would bind to the same protein located in healthy tissue or in other parts of the body and cause undesirable toxicity.

About F1 Oncology, Inc.

F1 Oncology, Inc. is a private Delaware C corporation formed in November 2015 with operations in West Palm Beach, Florida, San Diego, California and international affiliates in George Town, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, China. F1 Oncology was founded by Gregory Frost, Ph.D., co-founder and former CEO of Halozyme Therapeutics Inc., Health Sector Chief at Intrexon Corporation, and current managing director of F1 BioVentures, LLC, a biotechnology-focused investment vehicle. F1 Oncology leverages its globally integrated science, development and informatics teams located across multiple time zones to accelerate the design, high-throughput screening, discovery and development of adoptive cellular therapy candidates. The company is developing two CAB-based ACT platforms to develop TME restricted CAR-T therapies for solid tumors, as well as developing highly scalable systems for global deployment, beginning in Asia. Learn more at www.f1oncology.com.

About BioAtla, LLC

BioAtla is a global biotechnology company with operations in San Diego, California, and Beijing, China. BioAtla develops novel monoclonal antibody and other protein therapeutic product candidates designed to have more selective targeting, greater efficacy, and more cost-efficient and predictable manufacturing than traditional antibodies. By utilizing its proprietary technologies in product design and development, from target discovery to manufacturing and preclinical studies, BioAtla seeks to develop differentiated, patentable therapeutic proteins for its partners, including Pfizer, Inc., Sinobioway and F1 Oncology, and for its internal programs. BioAtla has over 170 patents issued and pending that cover its platform technologies representing a full complement of therapeutic protein development capabilities.

About Beijing Sinobioway Group Company, Limited 

Sinobioway was founded in 1992 and is one of the three main industrial groups affiliated with Peking University. Sinobioway is mainly engaged in bioeconomy system establishment and bio-industry development. It primarily invests in biomedicine, bioagriculture, bioenergy, bioenvironment, bioservices, biomanufacturing and biointelligence. Biologic therapeutics is a particular focus of Sinobioway in its plans to develop and commercialize new medicines. Sinobioway is constructing a large biologics production facility, with a long-term capability goal of 100 production lines, in the planned 20 billion RMB bio-economic zone under construction in Hefei.

BioAtla^© receives $36 million as balance of 2016 CAB program selection payments

SAN DIEGO, CA - December 6, 2016 - BioAtla^© LLC, a global biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologic (CAB) antibody therapeutics, today announced that BioAtla^© and Beijing Sinobioway Group Company, Limited (Sinobioway) selected their first four CAB product programs for development. The specific program candidates and the targeted indications are not disclosed. In March 2015, BioAtla and Sinobioway entered into a strategic collaboration for the development and commercialization of select CAB antibodies for specific indications in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan (the Territory). Related to this agreement and as a result of the selection of all four of the 2016 CAB candidates for development, BioAtla received on November 1, 2016 a $36 million payment from Sinobioway representing the balance of the collaboration funding for the selection of the four 2016 CAB candidates and the specific indications. Including these funds, BioAtla has received more than $100 million in program payments and equity investments relating to its strategic collaboration agreement with Sinobioway.

BioAtla and Sinobioway are working collaboratively to develop several CAB candidates for specific indications for the Territory. Sinobioway pays BioAtla pre-determined collaboration fees for each indication it chooses to license and develop. As part of the agreement, Sinobioway has exclusive rights to develop and commercialize selected CAB antibodies for selected indications in the Territory and BioAtla retains the rest of world rights to these products candidates and indications. Sinobioway is obligated to fund the development, manufacturing, clinical trials and commercialization costs in the Territory. BioAtla is further eligible to receive certain milestone payments and double-digit royalties on sales. BioAtla's agreement with Sinobioway is open-ended as there is no annual minimum number of CAB antibody indications that Sinobioway is obligated to select after the initial four and no maximum that BioAtla may nominate and that Sinobioway may select, and the indication nomination and selection process remains active through the term of the agreement. However, in order to maintain exclusivity in the Territory for the CAB antibodies in indications it has licensed, Sinobioway is obligated to select a minimum number of CAB antibodies for certain indications BioAtla nominates each year, which would result in BioAtla's receipt of at least $40 million per year from collaboration fees on an ongoing basis.

This strategic collaboration is the keystone of BioAtla's long-term plans to address the growing demand for innovative therapeutic products in the China pharmaceutical market. BioAtla's patent protected Conditionally Active Biologics platform represents a potentially disruptive technology for the development of a new class of immunotherapeutics that are activated in selected microenvironments within the body, such as those indicative of cancerous tumors. CABs can be generated in several different formats including naked monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), antibody drug conjugates, immune checkpoint inhibitors, bispecific antibodies, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells.

"BioAtla's strategy is to broadly pursue novel therapeutic products based on our patented CAB and other proprietary technologies," said Jay M. Short, Ph.D., president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of BioAtla. "China is an immensely important opportunity for CABs and we are excited to be working with Sinobioway with its demonstrated commitment and strong capabilities to execute and to fulfill our mutual goals. We will continue to build upon our drug development experience to pursue the potential of the CAB platform for our collaboration with Sinobioway, as well as for our collaboration with Pfizer and for our portfolio of proprietary CAB product candidates."

About Conditionally Active Biologics (CABs)

Conditionally Active Biologic proteins are generated using BioAtla's proprietary protein discovery, evolution and expression technologies. These proteins can be mAbs, enzymes and other proteins designed with functions dependent on changes in microphysiological conditions (e.g., pH level, oxidation, temperature, pressure, presence of certain ions, hydrophobicity and combinations thereof) both outside and inside cells.

Studies have shown that cancerous tumors create highly specific conditions at their site that are not present in normal tissue. These cancerous microenvironments are primarily a result of the well understood unique glycolytic metabolism associated with cancer cells, referred to as the Warburg Effect. CAB-designed mAbs can be programmed to deliver their therapeutic payload and/or recruit the immune response in specific and selected locations and conditions within the body. CABs have the potential to increase safety because they are designed to be active only in the presence of a particular cellular microenvironment thereby preferentially binding to their intended target protein in the area of disease. In addition, the activation is reversible and can repeatedly switch ‘on and off' should the CAB move from a diseased to a normal cellular microenvironment and vice versa, thereby further reducing chances the CAB would bind to the same protein located in healthy tissue or in other parts of the body and cause undesirable toxicity.

BioAtla believes CABs can facilitate higher dosing, the development of effective, non-immunogenic drugs, and the use of targets that are validated for cancer cells but traditionally considered too prevalent among normal cells to be used safely in current drug therapies. This could open a potentially rich range of targets for CABs that cannot be addressed using existing technologies.

About Beijing Sinobioway Group Company, Limited

Sinobioway was founded in 1992 and is one of the three main industrial groups affiliated with Peking University. Sinobioway is mainly engaged in bioeconomy system establishment and bio-industry development. It primarily invests in biomedicine, bioagriculture, bioenergy, bioenvironment, bioservices, biomanufacturing and biointelligence. Biologic therapeutics is a particular focus of Sinobioway in its plans to develop and commercialize new medicines. Sinobioway is constructing a large biologics production facility, with a long-term capability goal of 100 production lines, in the planned 20 billion RMB bio-economic zone under construction in Hefei.

BioAtla^© receives $19 million in first program payments plus equity

SAN DIEGO, CA - January 6, 2016 - BioAtla^© LLC, a global biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologic (CAB) antibody therapeutics, today announced that BioAtla^© and Beijing Sinobioway Group Company, Limited (Sinobioway) selected their first product programs for development. In May 2015, BioAtla^© and Sinobioway entered into a strategic collaboration for the development and commercialization of select CAB antibodies and other CAB-based therapeutics in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan (the Territory). Related to and as a result of this agreement, BioAtla^© received a previously reported $30 million equity investment from a China-based investor group. BioAtla^© now receives $19 million in program payments plus equity investment from Sinobioway as a result of the selection of the first CAB candidates and achievement of other corporate objectives. Including these funds, BioAtla^© will receive a total of more than $70 million in program payments and equity investment from Sinobioway over the course of the next twelve months.

BioAtla^© and Sinobioway are working collaboratively to develop several CAB candidates for the Territory. As part of the agreement, Sinobioway has exclusive rights to develop and commercialize selected CAB antibodies in the Territory and BioAtla^© retains the rest of world (ROW) rights to these products. Sinobioway will fund the development, manufacturing, clinical trials and commercialization costs in the Territory and is committed to making recurring product development payments to BioAtla^© for additional CAB candidates. BioAtla^© is further eligible to receive certain milestone payments and double-digit royalties on sales.

This strategic collaboration is the keystone of BioAtla^©'s long-term plans to address the growing high demand for innovative therapeutic products in the China pharmaceutical market. BioAtla^©'s patent protected Conditionally Active Biologics platform represents a disruptive technology for the development of a powerful new class of immunotherapeutics that are activated in selected microenvironments within the body, such as those indicative of cancerous tumors. CABs can be generated in several different formats including naked monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), antibody drug conjugates, immune checkpoint inhibitors, bispecific antibodies, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells.

"BioAtla^©'s strategy is to broadly and rapidly pursue novel therapeutic products based on our patented CAB and other proprietary technologies," said Jay M. Short, Ph.D., president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of BioAtla^©. "China is an immensely important opportunity for CABs and we are excited to be working with Sinobioway with its demonstrated commitment and strong capabilities to execute and to fulfill our mutual goals. Since BioAtla^©'s founding in 2007, we have utilized our San Diego and Beijing development and operations capabilities to successfully develop dozens of protein products under contract and shared development. We will continue to build upon our drug development experience to pursue the great prospects of the CAB platform for our collaboration with Sinobioway, as well as for our collaboration with Pfizer that we announced last month on December 8, and for our portfolio of proprietary CAB products."

"Conditionally Active Biologics is an innovative and breakthrough technology to develop the new class of immuno-oncology therapeutics," said Dr. Pan Aihua, chairman of Sinobioway. "The CAB technology and its prospects will be important elements in Sinobioway's mission to advance science and industrial development, and improve health in China through creating and delivering safer and more effective medicines to patients."

About Conditionally Active Biologics (CABs)

Studies have shown that cancerous tumors create highly specific conditions at their site that are not present in normal tissue. These cancerous microenvironments are primarily a result of the well understood unique glycolytic metabolism associated with cancer cells, referred to as the Warburg Effect, which was first described in the early 1900's and is the basis of the widely-used PET scan cancer detection method today. CAB-designed mAbs can be programmed to deliver their therapeutic payload and/or recruit the immune response in specific and selected locations and conditions within the body. CABs increase safety because the drug's activation depends on its presence in a particular cellular microenvironment thereby preferentially binding to its intended target protein in the area of disease. In addition, the activation is reversible and can repeatedly switch ‘on and off' should the CAB product move from a diseased to a normal cellular microenvironment and vice versa thereby further reducing chances the CAB would bind to the same protein located in healthy tissue or in other parts of the body and cause undesirable toxicity.

CABs allow for higher dosing, the development of effective, non-immunogenic drugs, and the use of targets that are validated for cancer cells but traditionally considered too prevalent among normal cells to be used safely in current drug therapies. This opens a potentially rich range of targets for CABs that cannot be addressed using existing technologies. CABs may also be employed as diagnostic tools to reveal and pinpoint conditions indicative of cancerous activity.

About Beijing Sinobioway Group Company, Limited

Sinobioway was founded in 1992 and is one of the three main industrial groups affiliated with Peking University. Sinobioway is a leader in establishing a bioeconomy system in China and developing that country's bio-industry. It invests in biomedicine, bioagriculture, bioenergy, bioenvironment, bioservices, biomanufacturing and biointelligence. Biologic therapeutics is a particular focus of Sinobioway in its plans to develop and commercialize new medicines. Sinobioway is constructing a large biologics production facility, with a long-term capability goal of 100 production lines, in the planned 20 billion RMB bio-economic zone under construction in Hefei.

Proceeds to accelerate proprietary product development and create opportunities in the Chinese pharmaceutical market

San Diego, Calif. - June 11, 2015 - BioAtla^©LLC, a global biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologic (CAB) antibody therapeutics, today announced that a China-based investor group has purchased $30 million in BioAtla^©equity. The proceeds will be used to accelerate the development of the company's CAB antibody drug pipeline. This strategic investment will also advance BioAtla^©'s plans to collaboratively develop biotherapeutics with biopharmaceutical companies in China to address the growing demand for innovative therapeutic products in the Chinese pharmaceutical market.

BioAtla^©'s patent-protected Conditionally Active Biologics platform represents a disruptive technology for the development of a powerful new class of immunotherapeutics that are activated in selected microenvironments within the body, such as the tumor microenvironment. CABs can be generated in several different formats including naked monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), antibody drug conjugates, immune checkpoint inhibitors, bispecific antibodies, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells.

"The $30 million equity investment is a transformative event for BioAtla^© and our strategy to broadly and rapidly pursue novel therapeutic products based on our patented CAB and other proprietary technologies," said Jay M. Short, Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of BioAtla^©. "Since BioAtla^©'s founding in 2007, we have utilized our Beijing development and operations capabilities to successfully develop dozens of protein products under contract and shared development. Our drug development experience and expertise in China, the great prospects of the CAB platform, and our strategy of developing proprietary drugs to defined value inflection points prior to partnering with pharmaceutical companies are attractive features for the investor group. The investor group's contacts and relationships in the China biopharmaceutical field are expected to lead to additional near-term, non-dilutive research and development investments in establishing integrated strategic partnering collaborations in China in the areas of CAB-enhanced antibody therapeutics, including in immuno-oncology and CAR-T therapeutics."

About Conditionally Active Biologics (CABs)

Conditionally Active Biologic proteins (CABs) are generated using BioAtla^©'s proprietary protein evolution and expression technologies. These proteins can be monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), enzymes or other proteins designed with functions dependent on changes in microphysiological conditions (e.g., pH level, oxidation, temperature, pressure, presence of certain ions, hydrophobicity and combinations thereof).

Studies have shown that tumors create highly specific conditions locally that are not found in normal tissue. These cancerous microenvironments are a result of the well understood unique glycolytic metabolism associated with cancer cells, referred to as the Warburg Effect, which was first described in the early 1900's and is the basis of the widely-used PET scan cancer detection method today. CAB-designed mAbs can be programmed to deliver their therapeutic payload and/or recruit the immune response in specific and selected locations and conditions within the body. CABs increase safety because the drug is reversibly activated when it preferentially binds directly to its intended target protein in the area of disease. In this example, the CAB does not effectively bind to the same protein located in healthy tissue or other parts of the body that can otherwise result in undesirable toxicity.

The CAB antibody's selective activation results from amino acid substitutions of human-like sequences made to ensure compatibility. In addition to reducing risk of immunogenicity, this approach also improves the manufacturing yield of the drug. Reliably good expression and high manufacturing yields are also derived from BioAtla^©'s patented Comprehensive Integrated Antibody OptimizationTM (CIAO) technology that allows every step of development and screening of antibody variants until final CAB lead selection to be conducted in the mammalian cell type to be used in manufacturing.

CABs allow for higher dosing, the development of effective, non-immunogenic drugs, and the use of targets that are validated for cancer cells but traditionally considered too prevalent among normal cells to be used safely in current drug therapies. This opens a potentially rich range of targets for CABs that cannot be addressed using existing technologies. CABs may also be employed as diagnostic tools to reveal and pinpoint conditions indicative of cancerous activity.

CIAO!™ Technology Maximizes Selectivity of Conditionally Active Antibodies

San Diego, Calif. - October 14, 2014 - BioAtla©, a global biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologics (CABs), today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued to BioAtla U.S. Patent No. 8,859,467, for its proprietary Comprehensive Integrated Antibody Optimization (CIAO!™) technology platform. The BioAtla CIAO! patent broadly covers methods of evolving and screening for antibodies in manufacturing host cells during the discovery stages of drug development. The CIAO! technology platform allows for antibody candidate development in a native cellular environment that generates the best collection of lead candidates that optimize downstream expression yields and in vivo translation of function, thereby increasing the likelihood of preserving selected therapeutic activities in the final drug.

"CIAO!™ and our related proprietary evolution and selection technologies are beneficial, and often critical, in the development of antibodies and other proteins that maximize selectivity, such as those developed from our patented CAB technology," said Jay M. Short, Ph.D., president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of BioAtla. "CABs can be designed as monoclonal antibodies, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), CAR-T cells or other therapeutics to target specific tissues in cancerous or distressed conditions associated with unique microenvironments in the body. CAB antibodies are a disruptive technology for the development of a powerful new class of immunotherapeutics and are prime examples of novel potential product opportunities that benefit from the use of CIAO!-based processes."

BioAtla employs CIAO!™ technology in all of its internal development programs for its growing list of pipeline antibody candidates. The high fidelity of the CIAO! platform when combined with BioAtla's evolution technologies allows selection of therapeutic candidates with unique functional characteristics, natural protein folding and glycosylation, high protein expression and faster downstream process development characteristics, all of which enable cost and time efficiencies, as well as maximizing and preserving functionality. This homogenous process of evolution through manufacturing leads to greater predictability and likelihood of therapeutic success. BioAtla has successfully utilized CIAO! in dozens of antibody programs over the past several years including the licensing in early 2014 of an antibody directed at a novel validated target for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and colorectal cancer.

About the CIAO!™ Technology Platform

The development of novel therapeutic antibodies is increasingly employing the power of evolution to discover molecules with selected characteristics. A molecule's characteristics reflect all inherent and environmental influences such as amino acid sequence, secondary modifications (e.g. glycosylation), and tertiary characteristics such as folding which is affected by environmental factors including pH, salt, temperature, hydrophobicity, support proteins (e.g. chaperonins), substrate pools; generically, the host environment. While the power of evolution is the ability to discover molecules with selected characteristics, the inherent challenge is that the selection process is dominated by the selection environment or assay. As an example, selecting a molecule in bacteria and subsequently expressing in mammalian cells risks generating molecules that require extra process development costs to adapt to the different host system and poor pK in vivo due to the potential of selecting unnatural secondary and tertiary structures. The power of BioAtla's CIAO! technology is that it selects molecules in a manner that mirrors both the body's environment and the host that will be used for final manufacturing of the drug.

About Conditionally Active Biologics™ (CABs)

Conditionally Active Biologic proteins (CABs) are generated using BioAtla's proprietary protein evolution technologies, including CIAO!, that typically employ selected amino acid substitutions in a protein that work together to confer selective conditional activation found in a range of microenvironments existing in the body. These proteins can be monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), antibody drug conjugates, CAR-T cells, or other therapeutic proteins designed with functions dependent on changes in microphysiological conditions (e.g., pH, oxidation, temperature, pressure, presence of certain ions, hydrophobicity and combinations thereof).

CABs allow for higher dosing or the development of more potent, non-immunogenic drugs. CABs increase safety because the drug is activated and preferentially binds directly to its intended target protein in the microenvironment of the diseased cells and not in normal tissue. This advantage allows CABs to use targets that are present on cancer cells even though the targets may also be prevalent among normal cells. Such targets are considered unusable in current drug therapy approaches because their lack of selectivity risks unwanted on-target toxicity. The higher selectivity resulting from CAB antibody generation is expected to capitalize on the attractiveness of such previously unavailable targets and increase the effectiveness of most therapeutics relative to traditional antibody approaches.

The September 2014 issue of Nature Biopharma Dealmakers focused on innovative biotech companies in the field of cancer immunotherapy, and featured a profile of Bioatla^© and their Conditionally Active Biologics (CAB) technology.

With this technology antibodies can be engineered for activity only in certain microenvironments (for example the acidic microenvironment of tumor cells), thereby enhancing safety and therapeutic index. The safety of existing antibody drug conjugates can be improved, and new antibodies made to targets that are not specific enough to cancer cells to be suitable drug targets currently.