Samsung Epis Holdings(0126Z0) subsidiary Samsung Bioepis said on the 9th that it signed a contract to introduce antibody new drug development technology with the artificial intelligence (AI)-based protein analysis corporations Proteina(468530).
The contract follows the "development and demonstration of antibody biopharmaceuticals using an AI model," a national project by the Ministry of Health and Welfare being carried out with Professor Baek Min-kyung's research team in the Department of Biological Sciences at Seoul National University since Oct. last year.
The contract amount was not disclosed by mutual agreement, but the filing that day estimated it at a minimum of 41.8 billion won, or at least 2.5% of revenue in the most recent fiscal year.
The two companies will collaborate to use AI to discover antibody new drug candidates by 2027. Proteina will handle AI-based candidate discovery and validation, and Samsung Bioepis will conduct preclinical studies for an investigational new drug (IND) application.
If Samsung Bioepis later exercises a licensing option, it will pursue clinical development and commercialization, and Proteina will receive milestone payments based on development stages and sales royalties.
Samsung Bioepis has received approvals for a total of 11 biosimilar (biosimilar) products from major regulators including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the company said there have been no rejection cases in the IND approval process.
Proteina has its own ultrafast antibody development and analysis platform. The platform reportedly cuts the antibody validation period, which used to take several months, to about two weeks, and can analyze more than 10,000 antibody sequences simultaneously each week, significantly speeding up new drug development.
The collaboration is also a case of Samsung's future technology nurturing program leading to actual commercialization. Proteina CEO Yun Tae-young received support from the Samsung Future Technology Foundation for five years from 2014 to 2018.
Samsung Bioepis President Kim Kyung-ah said, "It will serve as an opportunity to extend the process optimization capabilities accumulated through biosimilar development into the field of antibody new drug development," adding, "We will work closely with our partners to successfully carry out the government's national project."
Proteina CEO Yun Tae-young said, "It is significant that technology combining AI with an experimental validation platform has entered a crucial demonstration phase that goes beyond the research stage to actual new drug development."