Dong-A ST (Vice Chairman Jang Soo-hyoung) announced on January 24 that it has signed a license-in agreement with ABL Bio (CEO Lee Sang-hoon) for the development of a new bispecific antibody cancer immunotherapy at the ABL Bio headquarters located in Pangyo Techno Valley, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of the two companies, including Vice Chairman Kang Soo-hyoung of Dong-A ST and CEO Lee Sang-hoon of ABL Bio.
According to the terms of the contract, Dong-A ST will have a global monopoly on the two pipelines for the bispecific antibody for cancer immunotherapy currently being researched by ABL Bio, and will promote cell line development, process development, clinical development and commercialization. For its part, ABL Bio will be in charge of deriving candidate substances for the cancer immunotherapy target currently being studied.
The bispecific antibody, a new drug jointly developed by the two companies, acts simultaneously on immune cells and tumor cells so as to maximize the human immune response and anti-cancer effect on tumor cells by using the working principle of an antibody that binds specifically to an antigen.
In the future, the two companies will form a consultative body for the success of joint development and cooperate closely in the research and development of cancer immunotherapies.
ABL Bio possesses a core technology for the development of a bispecific antibody and antibody drug conjugate (ADC), which is attracting attention as a next-generation antibody drug-based technology in the fields of targeted anti-cancer, cancer immunotherapy and Parkinson’s medicines and treatments.
Vice Chairman Kang Soo-hyoung of Dong-A ST said, “With this agreement, we have strengthened our R&D competitiveness by acquiring new compound drugs as well as existing compound drugs in the field of cancer immunotherapy. We will continue to expand our cooperation with external organizations for the development of innovative cancer immunotherapies.”
“We are confident that under this agreement our two companies’ excellent R&D capabilities will accelerate the development of truly first-in-class innovative new drugs,” declared ABL Bio CEO Lee Sang-hoon.
