Abion announced on the 30th that it has signed a joint research agreement with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a branch of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop a Claudin-3 targeted therapy. Through this joint research, Abion plans to evaluate the preclinical efficacy of its ‘ABN501’ and the ‘Claudin-3 targeted therapeutic agent’ for the treatment of small cell lung cancer.
ABN501 is a first-in-class innovative drug targeting the Claudin-3 protein, which is reported to be overexpressed in small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and prostate cancer. Globally, it has been difficult to discover antibodies that selectively bind only to Claudin-3, making Abion’s ‘ABN501’ the only therapeutic agent under development.
Small cell lung cancer, which accounts for about 15% of lung cancer?the leading cause of cancer-related deaths?is known for its rapid progression and low survival rate. The research team at the National Cancer Institute, led by Dr. Anish Thomas, is spearheading clinical studies on various drugs targeting small cell lung cancer. Based on a drug efficacy evaluation model and research infrastructure derived from a large number of small cell lung cancer patient samples, they plan to identify Claudin-3 overexpression and potential biomarkers, and assess the anticancer activity of targeted therapies.
Shin Young-ki, CEO of Abion, stated, “We will accelerate the development and licensing out (LO) of ABN501 to address the unmet medical needs for effective new targeted therapies for small cell lung cancer. It is also expected that various drug modalities utilizing ABN501 can be developed.”
Meanwhile, the day before, Abion announced that it has begun the process of sale through a third-party allotment paid-in capital increase targeting global pharmaceutical companies. Alongside this, it will also promote the licensing out (LO) of its pipeline.
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