AimedBio, which is set to list on KOSDAQ, said on the 15th that it signed a license-out agreement to transfer the technology of a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) drug candidate to Boehringer Ingelheim.
The total deal value is up to $991 million (about 1.4 trillion won). This includes an upfront payment and stepwise milestones for development, approval, and commercialization. Under the agreement, the two companies kept the size of the upfront payment and detailed terms confidential. Sales-based royalties (royalty; a portion of sales revenue) after commercialization are separate.
With this agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim secured the global development and commercialization rights for the ADC drug candidate developed by AimedBio.
ADC is a therapeutic technology that attaches a drug to an antibody to deliver it precisely to cancer cells only. It consists of an antibody that seeks out cancer cells, a payload that kills cancer cells, and a linker that connects them. It reduces adverse effects on normal cells while maximizing treatment efficacy, so it is called "a guided missile that targets cancer cells."
The drug candidate whose technology was transferred this time targets a novel tumor selectively expressed in various solid cancers, including KRAS mutations, a gene mutation that causes cancer. It is designed to deliver strong anticancer effects while scarcely acting on normal cells by applying an inhibitor that suppresses the action of Topo1 (Topoisomerase I), an enzyme that helps replicate the DNA of cancer cells. The company aims to enter phase 1 (First-in-Human) clinical trials next year.
Vittoria Zinzalla, executive vice president and global head of experimental medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim, said, "ADC is a field that opens new possibilities for cancer treatment," and added, "AimedBio's ADC precisely targets specific cancer cell surface targets and is expected to provide meaningful therapeutic benefits to patients with hard-to-treat cancers."
Nam Do-hyun, chief technology officer (CTO) of AimedBio, said, "This agreement is significant in that it recognizes the potential of the ADC asset held by AimedBio," and added, "Together with Boehringer Ingelheim, we will advance an innovative anticancer drug into the clinical stage early and present new options to cancer patients who lack treatment alternatives."
AimedBio is a biotech company spun off from Samsung Medical Center in 2018, and it develops precision antibodies and ADC drugs through a patient-derived cell-based target discovery and antibody screening platform. The company filed a securities registration statement on the 29th of last month and is set to list on KOSDAQ within the year. Previously, Samsung C&T, Samsung Biologics, and Samsung Bioepis jointly invested through the "Samsung Life Science Fund," and Yuhan Corporation and others invested in the company.