Idience, a cancer drug development company of Ildong Pharmaceutical Group, announced on the 12th that it has signed a joint development agreement with Aptis, a subsidiary of Dong-A Socio Group specializing in antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), to develop next-generation dual payload ADC cancer therapies.
ADC is a therapeutic technology that attaches drugs to antibodies that bind to cancer cells, allowing for precise delivery of the drug to the cancer cells. A dual payload ADC is a drug that combines two or more different mechanisms of action with a single antibody to inhibit and kill cancer cells.
According to the agreement, Idience plans to develop an ADC therapy utilizing its next-generation cancer drug 'Venadaparib' and Aptis's antibody-payload conjugation technology 'AbClick' to maximize therapeutic efficacy and safety. Venadaparib is an oral targeted cancer drug that selectively kills cancer cells by inhibiting PARP, an enzyme involved in the repair of DNA damage in cells.
Lee Won-sik, CEO of Idience, noted, "This project is a groundbreaking attempt to extend PARP inhibitors as ADC payloads based on combination therapy clinical data," adding, "I expect it will be an opportunity to secure differentiated candidate substances and technical competitiveness in the global ADC market."
Han Tae-dong, CEO of Aptis, said, "I hope this will be a turning point that combines Aptis's proprietary ADC technology and platform with Idience's promising cancer drug pipeline to create synergistic effects and open a new chapter in the development of next-generation dual payload ADCs."