LegoChem Bio Signs Agreement to Acquire Trop2 Antibody Technology from Italy's Mediterrania

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] LegoChem Biosciences announced on the 3rd that it has licensed the anti-Trop2 antibody developed by Italy's Mediterrania Theranostics. The total contract value, including upfront payments and milestone payments based on development stages, is approximately 52.8 billion KRW. Through this agreement, LegoChem Biosciences secured worldwide rights to the antibody for ADC applications.

The licensed antibody selectively binds only to the Trop2 antigen expressed on cancer cells and does not bind to the same antigen present on normal cells. Through over two years of joint research, LegoChem Biosciences and Mediterrania applied LegoChem’s ADC technology to this antibody to derive a clinical candidate and conducted comparative tests across various cancer types. They verified superior efficacy and safety compared to competing drugs such as Immunomedics’ ‘Trodelvy’ and Daiichi Sankyo’s ‘DS-1062’.

The Trop-2 ADC is a development candidate confirmed to have efficacy against various solid tumors. Last year, Immunomedics was acquired by Gilead for about 28 trillion KRW following the approval of ‘Trodelvy’, a treatment for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Daiichi Sankyo previously licensed ‘DS-1062’, currently in Phase 3 clinical trials, to AstraZeneca for approximately 6.5 trillion KRW.

Last year, LegoChem Biosciences licensed three development candidates, establishing capabilities in mass production and preclinical development. The company announced plans to rapidly advance development processes together with top experts on its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Among the advisors, Maurice Rosenberg, currently CTO of Immunomedics and who led the late-stage development through approval of Trodelvy, is expected to play a key role in developing the candidate molecules.

At the end of last year, LegoChem Biosciences announced its ‘Vision 2030’, declaring a strategic shift from early-stage technology licensing to independent development through clinical stages to increase licensing value, aiming to become the world’s leading ADC company. The secured Trop-2 ADC development candidate is expected to be one of the first candidates under this strategy.

Kim Yongju, CEO of LegoChem Biosciences, stated, “We plan to aggressively expand our clinical pipeline to become a global clinical-stage company,” adding, “We are conducting joint research and development with various domestic and international antibody companies to secure pipelines including new fields such as bispecific antibody-ADC.”

LegoChem Biosciences expects multiple technology licenses this year as well. The company is establishing a local subsidiary in Boston, USA, dedicated to ADC development.